BROOKINGS, S.D. (SDSU) – South Dakota State used an eight-point scoring run over the last two minutes of play, and kept South Dakota scoreless during the final three minutes of action, as the Jackrabbits defeated the Coyotes 72-67 on Saturday, Feb. 11, in Frost Arena. 

South Dakota State held multiple six-point leads in the second half which included a 60-54 margin with just over eight minutes remaining. South Dakota never folded and used an 8-0 run of its own capped by a Paul Bruns 3-pointer to put the Coyotes up 62-60 at the 5:36 mark of the second half. SDSU took a brief 64-62 advantage following a Zeke Mayo jumper and William Kyle III dunk, but USD’s Mason Archambault scored five straight points — including a field goal at the 3:10 mark — to put the Coyotes ahead 67-64. 

It would be the visiting side’s last points of the night. 

SDSU began its rally with an Alex Arians field goal in the paint to make it a 67-66 with 1:53 to play. AJ Plitzuweit went to the rim for a layup which was blocked by Arians on the ensuing possession giving the ball back to the Jackrabbits. Two SDSU misses were snagged by Kyle III and Matt Dentlinger helping the Jacks maintain possession. 

The Jackrabbits called timeout with 1:05 on the clock. 

SDSU put the ball in the hands of Mayo on the inbounds and he drove to the basket and completed a layup to put the Jackrabbits up 68-67 with eight seconds coming off the clock. The Coyotes missed another jump shot on their next possession. Mayo clinched the victory for South Dakota State as he hit a step back 3-pointer with 15 seconds left to give the Jackrabbits a 71-67 edge. 

South Dakota turned the ball over out of a timeout and Dentlinger secured the steal. The Jackrabbit senior hit one of two free throws to close out the win in front of a sell-out crowd of 4,421 spectators. 

The Coyotes outshot the Jackrabbits 44.4-43.5% and had the edge from the 3-point line making 10 of 22 3-pointers (45.5%) compared to SDSU’s 7-for-26 clip. SDSU took advantage of a 38-29 margin in rebounding to produce eight more field goal attempts. The Jacks led by as many as 11 in the first half, however the Coyotes cut the deficit to 40-38 at halftime thanks to an eight-point scoring span to close out the opening half. 

Dentlinger was the leading scorer in the contest with 20 points. He was 6-for-8 from the field and 8 of 10 at the free throw line. Mayo scored 19 points and had a team-high four assists. Arians scored 13 points. Matthew Mors grabbed a career-high nine rebounds while Kyle III matched his career best with eight. 

Four Coyotes finished in double digits scoring led by Plitzuweit’s 18. The guard also had four assists while Damani Hayes had eight rebounds. 

The Jackrabbits improved to 15-11, and 10-4 in Summit League play, behind their fourth straight win. The victory for SDSU was its second over USD this season following an 82-64 win for the Jacks in Vermillion on Jan. 14. South Dakota fell to 11-15 (6-8). 

Notes

  • South Dakota State picked up its sixth straight win over South Dakota. SDSU has also won 20 of the last 26 meetings between the two sides. 
  • The Jackrabbits extended their home win streak over Summit League opposition to 19 games. 
  • SDSU has now won 12 consecutive games in the month of February dating back to the 2020-21 season. The streak is now the longest currently in Division I men’s basketball following Buffalo’s loss to Ken State on Friday. 

Up Next
The Jackrabbits hit the road for their final two away games of the 2022-23 regular season. South Dakota State will face Denver in Colorado on Thursday, Feb. 9.