Nov. 23—VERMILLION, S.D. — A late-game layup and defensive stop in the final 30 seconds proved to be the difference in the University of South Dakota men's basketball team's 82-81 win over South Carolina State on Saturday afternoon at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
At the end of the first half, USD had a 44-37 lead blossomed into a 20-point advantage coming out of the break behind a 19-6 run with less than 13 minutes remaining in regulation. But SCSU crawled back into the game late, due to a 35-15 run to tie it up at 78-all with less than two minutes left.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSouth Dakota's Jordan Crawford delivered a layup at the 24-second mark, followed by Cameron Fens' blocked shot with 2 seconds left on the other end to escape with a home victory.
The Coyotes had four players in double-figure scoring, led by Crawford with 25 on 9 of 14 shooting, two steals and the eventual game-winning layup. Issac Bruns and Shey Eberwein each tallied 14 points and Fens added 13. Bruns also had three rebounds and two assists, while Eberwein added four rebounds, three assists and one steal.
Fens had six rebounds and four blocks, as Uzziah Muntyn posted nine points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals. All told, South Dakota finished the day on 29 of 61 (47.5%) shooting from the floor and 15 second-chance points.
The Bulldogs (0-6) had five players in double figures, paced by Cameron Clark with 17 points, and added six rebounds and three blocks. Noah Treadwell had 15 points, as Owen Bronston Jr. had 14 and Florian Tenebay posted 11 points and seven rebounds. James Morrow rounded out the top-five scorers with 10 points and had three steals.
USD (4-3) will travel to West River for a matchup against Air Force at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29 in Rapid City.
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