VERMILLION, S.D. – Air Force held off South Dakota in the final few seconds to pick up its fifth-straight win of the season. The Falcons defeated the Yotes 58-57 inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Sunday afternoon.
 
Jeffrey Mills hit the game-winning bucket for Air Force (6-2) with 1:03 left in the second half, knocking down a three to break up a 55-55 tie and take a 58-55 lead. Rytis Petraitis made his first appearance of the season off the bench and scored a game-high 18 points.
 
Kaleb Stewart had a big first half for South Dakota (4-3) with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting and three triples. Paul Bruns came up big in the second half, scoring 13 of his 16 points in the second half in big moments. Bruns hit a couple big threes down the stretch, including the triple that tied the game at 55-55 with 1:23 to play.
 
It was a back-and-forth battle from the beginning starting with an early 10-10 tie with 12:27 to play in the half. The Yotes took their first lead of the game at 12-10 off a driving layup from Steven Kramer. From there, the Falcons went on a 10-0 run to take a 20-12 lead with 7:16 to play in the first half. Petraitis scored six of the 10 for the Falcons. A couple of layups from Bostyn Holt brought the Yotes within three late in the first half, but a jumper from Ethan Taylor to end the half put Air Force back up five at the break.
 
The second half was a game of runs for either side as the Falcons opened the half with five-straight points, but South Dakota responded with an 8-0 run to tie it back up at 36-36. Air Force took a nine-point lead off an 11-2 run but the Yotes responded with a 9-2 run that made it a one-point game with 5:20 to play in the second. A triple from Paul Bruns tied the game up at 55-55 with 1:23 to play, but Mills followed with the game-clinching three for the Falcons. Holt drove one in to bring South Dakota within one with seven seconds to play, but Mills forced a South Dakota turnover to secure the win for the Falcons.
 
Lahat Thioune was held to nine points but grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds for South Dakota. Holt added 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and grabbed seven rebounds.
 
The Coyotes shot 39 percent from the field and 33 percent from three. The Falcons scored 19 points off 17 Coyote turnovers. Air Force had 24 bench points while South Dakota had two points off its bench.
 
South Dakota hosts Waldorf on Tuesday at 7 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.