by Evan Maldonado
South Dakota State used a late run to overcome a Coyote lead and take round two of the South Dakota Showdown by a final score of 72-67 Saturday inside Frost Arena.
It was the sixth straight win for SDSU in the series as the Jacks improve its record to 15-11 (10-4 Summit) and stay undefeated at home in conference play. South Dakota falls to 11-15 (6-8 Summit) with four games left on the schedule.
Four Coyotes scored in double figures led by A.J. Plitzuweit’s 18 points. Plitzuweit went 5-of-10 from the floor and 2-of-6 from three. He also knocked down all six of his free-throws and dished out a team-high four assists. Kruz Perrott-Hunt scored in double-digits for 14th consecutive game with 15 points. Perrott-Hunt went 6-of-14 shooting and made three of his six three-pointers. Tasos Kamateros added 13 points while Mason Archambault reached 10 points. Damani Hayes recorded two points and a team-high eight rebounds. USD shot 44 percent from the floor and 45 percent from three.
Two straight three-pointers from Archambault and Kamateros and a jumper by Perrott-Hunt had the Coyotes up by five to begin the game. That was the largest lead of the game for South Dakota. Both teams traded small leads throughout the first half. A pair of free-throws from Plitzuweit tied the game at 22 with eight and a half minutes to go. A 13-2 run from that point capped off by a corner three from Charlie Easley put SDSU up by 11 and forced USD to call timeout. South Dakota then went on a 10-2 run to trim the deficit down to three and ended the half down by two at the break.
Midway through the second half, Plitzuweit knocked down a three to cut the Jacks’ lead down to three. The Coyotes and Jacks traded baskets and the game was kept within two possessions. Down by six with eight minutes to go, the Coyotes went on an 8-0 run to gain the lead. Max Burchill started the run with a tough layup in the paint followed by back-to-back threes from Kamateros and Paul Bruns. A layup by Archambault gave South Dakota a three-point advantage with three minutes to go. That was the last basket USD scored for the game. A closing 8-0 run highlighted by a three-point dagger from Zeke Mayo gave South Dakota State the five-point win.
Matt Dentlinger led the Jacks in scoring with a game-high 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Mayo had 19 points, though the Coyotes made him work for those points. Mayo went 8-of-21 from the floor and 3-of-12 from deep. Alex Arians, who did not play in the previous meeting in Vermillion, had 13 points off the bench on 5-of-12 from the floor. South Dakota State shot 43.5 percent from the field and was held to 26.9 percent from three. The Jacks outrebounded the Coyotes 38-29.
