By Andrew Holtan | The Brookings Register
BROOKINGS – South Dakota State had three chances to take the lead in the final minute but all three shots were off the mark and South Dakota came away with a 68-67 win at First Bank & Trust Arena on Saturday night.
Joe Sayler made a jumpshot with 2:14 to go to put SDSU up 67-64 but then Jordan Crawford hit a three to tie things up with 1:55 to play. Sayler then missed a contested lay up and Uzziah Buntyn made one of two free throws to give USD a 68-67 lead with 1:20 to play.
Sayler then missed a 3-pointer but Buntyn missed a three as well and the Jacks had the ball with 23 seconds to go. Sayler would then take the ball to the basket and take a turnaround jump shot that hit off the front of the rim. Bunzyn went to the line with 11 seconds and missed the front end of a one-and-one. Jaden Jackson grabbed the rebound and raced to the other end of the court where he missed a contested lay up with six seconds left. Ethan Kizer grabbed the rebound and ran out the clock and the ‘Yotes stunned an arena full of Yellow and Blue.
“[Those possessions] weren’t the ones that dictated the game,” said SDSU sophomore guard Joe Sayler. “There were possessions before that that could have played into effect. That last possession [where I shot the ball], coach [Bryan Petersen] trusted me to make the play and when you have that trust, you wish it would go in. But at the same time, I put in a lot of work and that’s my shot and it just didn’t fall.”
SDSU head coach Bryan Petersen said he liked the look that Jackson had on the final possession of the game.
“The very last [possession] we didn’t have a timeout, so we had things ready to go if they made two free throws and had our 3-point play from full court. For a miss, whoever got the outlet [pass] we were going to try to set maybe an early drag ball screen and try to get downhill and get into the paint. I didn’t like it because it didn’t go in, but at the same time, we got a lay up. We just didn’t make it,” Petersen said.
USD got off to a fast start as the Coyotes led 13-4 five and a half minutes into the game. The lead stretched to 24-12 with 11 minutes to go in the half, but SDSU went on a 16-4 run to tie things up with 5:51 left in the half. USD responded with a 15-4 run to close out the half and led 43-32 at halftime.
Sayler said the Jacks didn’t do a good job of guarding the Coyotes in the first half.
“They were scoring at all three levels. They had points in the paint and then were making their shots on the perimeter. We just need to do a better job of having energy and protecting our shell and protecting our paint. 43 [points] is a lot [points in one half] and when you allow a team with that many scorers to get going right away, it’s hard to shut the water off,” Sayler said.
SDSU started the second half strong. The Jacks went on a 19-2 run in the first seven minutes of the half to go up 51-45. The crowd was on its feet multiple times during that stretch but the Coyotes would then score seven straight points to regain the lead.
Petersen said it was disappointing that his team didn’t take advantage of the momentum they created with the start to the second half.
“It will be really interesting to see the film of those moments right after that. It was obviously a heck of a run and the crowd was fantastic. That place was electric during that run. But then we didn’t take that next step. We kind of let them hang around and then it became a game. That’s what happens when you don’t execute. You then have a chance to lose,” Petersen said.
The Jacks led 55-54 with just under eight minutes to go and Crawford made a three and Buntyn hit a jumpshot to put the ‘Yotes up four. Kalen Garry then made a shot and back-to-back baskets from Sayler put the Jacks up 61-59 with 4:52 to play. Kizer responded with a three to put USD back in front and then Wilkinson and Cameron Fens traded baskets before Wilkinson and Sayler each made shots to give SDSU the three-point lead with 2:14 to go.
SDSU shot 44.8% from the field and was 6-of-14 from three. Consistency has been a problem for the Jacks all season. Whether it’s from game to game, day to day or possession to possession, Petersen said his team is still searching for that consistency and believes a lot of starts on a day to day basis.
“We have to deal with what we do daily. Our daily habits and what we’re doing in practice and what we’re doing in film sessions. That’s how you create consistency. Doing it day after day after day, regardless if you win or lose. Then we need to find the things that we are not getting done during these games that we’re not winning and what we can do to improve on that,” Petersen said.
The Jacks were led by Sayler who had 21 points.Wilkinson had 18 points and nine rebounds. Jackson had 17 points. The five starters on Saturday night scored all of the points for the Jacks.
USD shot 41.7% from the field and was 10-of-29 from three. Crawford had 19 points to lead the Coyotes. Buntyn had 15 points and Fens had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Each team had 35 rebounds and 10 turnovers. SDSU was 9-of-11 at the free throw line and USD was 8-of-13.
USD improved to 14-12 overall and 6-5 in conference play. The Coyotes have had five players suffer season-ending injuries. They added NAIA transfers Trent Hudgens and Silan Bennion and Bennion started on Saturday night.
The loss drops SDSU to 11-14 overall and 4-6 in the Summit League. It was the first time this season that the Jacks dropped consecutive conference games as they lost to St. Thomas on Wednesday. They are now in seventh place in the Summit League and Petersen said he wants to make sure that his players are not too down on themselves after the tough loss to their in-state rival.
“I think we have to be mindful [of our players’ morale]. I trust our guys, that they are going to want to get in here and have a great practice on Monday. … We have to be mindful of that and that’s probably my number one focus going into practice on Monday, our team’s psyche. Obviously we have to get better and learn from this,” Petersen said.
— Contact Andrew Holtan at [email protected].
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