Men's Basketball Report: February 8
South Dakota 85, Minnesota State 75
Vermillion, S.D. -- South Dakota recorded the program's 300th DakotaDome victory by upending Minnesota State in front of 4,233 spectators in a meeting of the top two teams in the North Central Conference.
Steve Smith led the way for USD with a season-high 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor. Dylan Grimsley added 19 points, including making all six of his free throw attempts, along with grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out three assists.
Tyler Cain and Jesse Becker went for 12 points on the evening, with Cain's coming on 6-of-7 shooting, while Becker was buoyed by making all seven of his free throw chances.
Minnesota State's Luke Anderson scored a game-high 28 points and added six rebounds. The only other Maverick to reach double-digits in scoring was Tony Thomason, who had 12 points and a game-high six assists.
While both teams shot well from the floor in the first half, only USD kept up its success rate through the second half as it ended up connecting at a 51.9% clip the entire game. The Mavericks meanwhile made only 31.6% of their shots in the second half to end up at 41.8% for the game.
The Coyotes missed only one free throw on the evening in 18 attempts, shooting a season-best 94.4% on the evening. South Dakota also registered six blocked shots while the Mavericks were credited with none. The two squads used differing methods in scoring as USD scored 54 points in the paint, while MSU had only 18. However, Minnesota State made 11 three-point attempts compared to four for the Coyotes.
South Dakota jumped out to a quick lead with an 11-2 run to open the contest in the first 2:23 of play. However, Minnesota State clawed their way back into the game and eventually tied the score at 24-24 with 10:26 left on the clock. That set up a tight remainder of the first half as neither team led by more than five points. That five point deficit came at the end of the first 20 minutes of action though as USD closed with a 6-1 run over the final 2:05 play to take a 47-42 lead into the break.
Once again, MSU answered the bell to open the second half of play, coming out of the locker room with an 8-2 run to take a 50-49 lead just 1:54 into action. Ultimately, that proved to be Minnesota State's final lead of the evening as the Coyotes ripped off a 15-3 run over the next five minutes to open up a 64-53 lead.
USD's lead grew to as much as 13 points later on, holding a 70-57 advantage with 9:09 remaining. But the Mavericks would not go away quietly, at that point embarking on an 18-6 run that closed the gap to just one point at 76-75 at the 3:19 mark. Smith responded with a lay-up on the next Coyote possession to kick-start a run of nine unanswered USD points down the stretch as the program managed to earn a split in the season-series with the Mavericks.
St. Cloud State 75, Nebraska-Omaha 62
Omaha, Neb. -- Nebraska-Omaha's Zac Robinson broke the school's all-time 3-point shooting mark and reached 1,000 career points, but he and the Mavericks shot only 37 percent on the night, as St. Cloud State took a 75-62 win Sapp Fieldhouse.
Each time struggled to find a shooting rhythm in the first half, as St. Cloud shot 40.7 percent, while the Mavericks hit 33.3 percent. UNO held a 14-13 lead with 13:22 left in the first half, but the Huskies went on a 13-4 run over the next nine minutes to take an eight-point lead, 26-18. They held on to the lead into the half, 30-24.
St. Cloud State gradually increased its lead in the opening minutes of the second half, with seven-footer Eric Bergstrom scoring from inside, and guard David Dreas scoring from outside. A dunk by Bergstrom with 16:38 left put the score at 40-28.
Zac Robinson came back with his second 3-pointer of the night, giving him 231 for his career, breaking the record established by Mike Simons. Michael Jenkins followed with a dunk to cut the Huskies' lead to seven points, but at that point, the visitors went on a 15-0 run to blow the game open.
The lone highlight for UNO the rest of the way was another 3-pointer by Robinson with 2:27 left that put him over the 1,000-point plateau. He finished with three 3-point baskets on nine attempts and 13 points. He has one more milestone to achieve, as his next 3-pointer will tie him for the single-season record.
Denny Johnson led the Mavericks with 14 points. Jenkins finished with eight, only the second time this year he has not reached double-figures.
Dreas led the Huskies with 24 points, with Adam Sullivan adding 17. Bergstrom finished with 14, and Matt Schneck recorded a double-double with 12 points and a team-high 14 rebounds.
North Dakota 68, Augustana 66
Grand Forks, N.D. -- Mark Kruse scored a tip-in as the buzzer sounded, as North Dakota defeated Augustana 68-66 at Betty Engelstad Arena.
It was a third chance basket. Augustana's Joey Ryan tied the game at 66-66, drilling a three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining. The Sioux took a timeout and regrouped.
The Sioux set a play for Travis Bledsoe, who had a hot hand and scored 12 points. Bledsoe missed, as did Mike Gutter on the putback on the right side of the basket. But Kruse was there, letting the ball go right as the buzzer sounded. Kruse also had a hot hand, scoring 14 points.
Once again the Sioux, who played the game with only eight players, saw a team claw back in the final minutes. UND held a 64-57 lead after Kruse hit two free throws. Two-and-a-half minutes later the Vikings had tied it. However, the Sioux found a way to win.
The Sioux were led by Emmanuel Little, who had a double double with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Mike Gutter also had 13 points.
UND also had a great defensive game. The Sioux held the Vikings to a 36.8 percent shooting percentage, and held Augustana's heavy hitters Joey Ryan and Nick Olson to 6-of-23 from the field.
The Sioux started the game well. UND went on a 14-1 run in the opening five minutes, 26 seconds. However, Augustana battled back and tied the game 31-31 at halftime.
Augustana was led by Eric Krogman, who scored 13 points off the
bench. Marques Blank and Nick Olson each scored 12 points, while
David Foster had 10.