VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota basketball held a two-point lead at halftime but would ultimately fall to the No. 2 in the Summit League, St. Thomas, 90-78 at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Saturday.
 
Jordan Crawford poured in 22 points for his third straight game with 20+ points and knocked down a trio of 3-pointers. Uzziah Buntyn added 13 points, five rebounds, three steals and three assists, while Ethan Kizer had 11 with three treys.
 
Evan Anderson led the Yotes in the first half with eight points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting. South Dakota held a two-point advantage in the paint (20-18) and knocked down 4-of-10 from deep while holding the Tommies to 3-of-14. Anderson started an 8-0 run with five straight points halfway through the first, while Crawford knocked down a triple to give USD its largest lead of the day, 27-18. St. Thomas chipped away at the Coyote lead, but it was USD who took a 39-37 advantage into halftime.
 
The Yotes committed just three turnovers in the opening half and took advantage of five Tommie turnovers for seven points. St. Thomas controlled the glass (22-14) with five offensive rebounds for seven second chance points.
 
Back-to-back St. Thomas buckets to start the second half saw the Tommies regain the lead early. South Dakota evened the score four times in the second half, but the Tommies stayed out in front for over 17 minutes. Behind 17 second half points from Crawford, the Coyotes were able to stay within striking range until a 9-0 run pushed the Tommies lead to 16 (80-64) with 5:57 left.
 
St. Thomas knocked down 7-of-10 from deep and went 12-for-16 from the free throw while shooting 65.4% from the floor in the second half to earn the 90-78 win.
 
The Coyotes continue their homestand next week when they host Oral Roberts on Thursday 7 p.m. in the SCSC.
 
Notes

• South Dakota moves to 11-11 on the season, 3-4 in the conference and 9-3 at home
• Jordan Crawford scored 20+ points for the third straight game
• Silas Bennion dished out a season-high six assists
• Uzziah Buntyn stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, three assists, five rebounds and three steals