VERMILLION, S.D. – Senior Tyler Peterson scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half to carry South Dakota to a 77-67 win over North Dakota on senior day inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.
USD secures the No. 3 spot in the Summit League Tournament with the win and will play UND (13-17, 7-9 Summit) at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
South Dakota (20-11, 10-6), who was tied 39-39 at halftime, used a 6-0 run to start the second half to build a 45-39 lead with just two minutes gone in the second half. The Fighting Hawks responded with back-to-back jumpers in the paint to make it a 45-43 lead with just under 17 minutes left in the game.
A Hagedorn layup pushed the lead to 57-49 with 10 minutes left and a Cody Kelley layup made the score 66-55 with 5:19 left in the game.
Senior Marlon Stewart was hitting on all cylinders (5-of-8 shooting from the field) in the second-half to keep the Fighting Hawks within striking distance. Stewart picked up his third and fourth fouls back-to-back with just over 11 minutes left. UND cut the lead to six at 66-60, but the ensuing Coyote possession Stewart picked up his fifth foul with four minutes left, making it only the second time this season he has fouled out of the game.
With Stewart on the bench, the Fighting Hawks struggled to find an offensive rhythm and the Yotes took advantage with a 6-0 run to push the lead to 72-60 with 2:28 left in the game.
South Dakota made some free throws down the stretch while North Dakota continued to struggle without Stewart and would only attempt two shots in the final two minutes of the game.
In addition to Peterson’s 17 points, the other four starters all scored in double figures. Triston Simpson recorded 15 points on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting while Hagedorn and Umude each scored 14 points respectively. Kelley rounded out the double-figure scoring for the Yotes with 10 points and also grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
For the Fighting Hawks, Filip Rebraca recorded a double-double 17 points and 12 rebounds while De’Season Allen-Eikens had 15 points on the afternoon.
South Dakota converted 15 UND turnovers to 21 points compared to North Dakota’s nine points off 11 Coyote turnovers. The Yotes converted on 19-of-26 from the charity stripe compared to UND’s 5-of-10.
This afternoon’s crowd (3,929) was the sixth most in attendance in the SCSC history to watch a Coyote men’s basketball game.
Tickets for Sunday’s session can be bought through ticketmaster, at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center’s KELOLAND Box office or by the phone.
