SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—An unfortunate sequence of events in the final 30 seconds ended South Dakota's season at the Summit League Tournament Sunday inside the Sanford PREMIER Center. North Dakota State got a go-ahead runner in the lane from Tajavis Miller with 15 seconds left and a block by Miller at the rim in the final seconds to pull out a 70-68 win.
 
It was a terrific back-and-forth affair with 10 ties and 12 lead changes. South Dakota led 68-67 and got a defensive stop with 32 seconds left. But Kruz Perrott-Hunt overshot Tasos Kamateros with a lob over the defense trying to push the ball up into the frontcourt and North Dakota State took full advantage of the unforced error with Miller's runner, his 12^th point of the contest.
 
Now down 69-68, Perrott-Hunt took a handoff near the top of the left wing, dribbled once to his right and threw a strike to Damani Hayes rolling near the rim. Hayes gathered for a dunk and was hit from the front and the back. No whistle came and the Bison advanced to face South Dakota State in Monday night's semifinal.
 
"We played well enough and we gave ourselves a chance," said USD head coach Eric Peterson. "When you lose some games and you just get beat, you get a sick feeling in your stomach. But when you think you've played well enough to deserve to win, that's what really gets you as a coach."
 
It was the rubber match between two teams who defended their home courts against one another during the regular season. South Dakota saw its first season under Peterson end with a 12-19 record. North Dakota State, 3-11 at one point this season, improved to 15-16.
 
Grant Nelson had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bison and teammate Boden Skunberg added 17 points. A.J. Plitzuweit led the Coyotes with 17 points, Perrott-Hunt had 16 and Kamateros notched his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Three-point shooting has been a key statistic for South Dakota all season and the Coyotes were 5-of-23 in this one. USD made 1-of-11 from long range in the first half and trailed 33-25 at the break.
 
But South Dakota shot 61 percent in the second half to erase that deficit and reclaimed the lead at 45-44 on a Plitzuweit 3-pointer with 12:27 left.
 
"At halftime I said 'guys, we're going to start making some shots. We just need to stay with it.' And we did and came storming back in the second half and took the lead," said Peterson.
 
The final 10 minutes turned very much into a free-throw shooting contest. The Bison had just two field goals in the final nine minutes – a game-tying 3-pointer by Miller with 2:18 left and his game-winner in the final seconds. But NDSU made 11-of-14 free throws in that span to keep pace. Nelson was 11-of-13 from the stripe and the Bison finished 20-of-28 as a team.
 
South Dakota missed one free throw all game – the first of two from Perrott-Hunt with 56 seconds left. He made the second and that broke the 67-67 tie. The Coyotes were 13-of-14 from the line.
 
"What a fun environment," reflected Peterson. "We had a lot of fans here. It was loud. I tell everybody this, but I've been a part of the Mountain West and the Pac-12 and this tournament is just as good as any of those. It's one of the best mid-major tournaments in the country. That's why I'm excited to be the coach here and excited to get back and win some games here."