South Dakota Coyotes fall to Denver Pioneers 84-68

DENVER – Joe Rosga scored the first 13 points of the game for Denver en route to a game-high 23 points as the South Dakota men’s basketball team fell 84-68 in Denver Saturday.

The Coyotes suffer their first Summit League road loss and are 6-2 in conference action and 18-6 overall. Denver, who won its third-straight game, improves to 10-12 overall and 4-4 in the loop. 

Behind Rosga’s 13 points to start the game, Denver built a lead of 20-3 to take control of the game early on. Tyler Hagedorn hit a 3-point basket with 10:47 remaining in the first half to stop a 16-0 Pioneer run but DU was able to build a 22-point lead with 4:17 remaining in the half.

The Coyotes then used a 10-1 run to bring the deficit down to 13 points at 39-26 with 59 seconds remaining in the half. Matt Mooney sank a pair of free throws to start the run while Nick Fuller had a tip-in basket to continue the run.

USD Basketball:South Dakota Coyotes down Denver Pioneers for 11th straight win

After a Denver free throw, Tyler Peterson and Triston Simpson scored back-to-back layups before Hagedorn capped the run with a layup on his own. The Coyotes entered intermission trailing 42-28.

South Dakota chipped away at the Denver lead and cut the deficit to nine points when Peterson found Simpson open for a 3-point basket and a 51-42 score with 14:49 on the clock. However, Denver answered immediately on a Daniel Amigo dunk to spark a quick 7-0 run for the Pioneers.

After the Pioneers’ run, the Coyotes were able to get within 11 points when Simpson found Mooney for a 3-point basket with 5:57 remaining in the game but that is the closest USD would get as Denver claimed the 84-68 victory.

South Dakota shot 39.1 percent from the field on 25-of-64 field goal attempts. Hagedorn scored a team-high 16 points as Mooney added 14 and Simpson 12. Trey Burch-Manning and Hagedorn each grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. Peterson dished four assists, his fourth-straight game of three or more assists. Mooney tallied a game-high four steals.

After Rosga’s 23 points, Jake Pemberton tallied 22 points to lead the Pioneers who shot 55.4 percent from the field, making 31-of-56 shot attempts.

South Dakota travels to Western Illinois Thursday for a rematch with the Leathernecks. The Coyotes topped WIU 62-50 on Jan. 2 in Vermillion. Tip-off from Macomb, Illinois, is slated for 7 p.m.

SOUTH DAKOTA 87, S. DAKOTA ST. 68

S. DAKOTA ST. (17-6)

Daum 7-17 2-4 18, Flatten 5-7 0-0 14, King 5-10 4-7 14, Jenkins 3-12 0-0 7, Tellinghuisen 3-6 1-3 9, Theisen 1-4 0-0 3, Key 1-6 0-0 3, Severyn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-62 7-14 68.

SOUTH DAKOTA (18-5)

Burch-Manning 2-6 0-0 4, Hagedorn 4-12 0-0 8, Peterson 5-6 3-4 14, Mooney 11-21 4-5 30, Simpson 8-15 0-0 20, Fuller 5-9 0-0 11, Sparks 0-0 0-0 0, Power 0-0 0-0 0, Stensgard 0-0 0-0 0, Armstrong 0-2 0-0 0, Doss 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-71 7-9 87.

Halftime_South Dakota 38-32. 3-Point Goals_S. Dakota St. 11-30 (Flatten 4-6, Tellinghuisen 2-4, Daum 2-6, Key 1-2, Theisen 1-4, Jenkins 1-6, King 0-2), South Dakota 10-24 (Simpson 4-7, Mooney 4-8, Fuller 1-2, Peterson 1-2, Armstrong 0-1, Hagedorn 0-4). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_S. Dakota St. 30 (Daum 14), South Dakota 40 (Burch-Manning 11). Assists_S. Dakota St. 14 (King 4), South Dakota 15 (Peterson, Mooney 4). Total Fouls_S. Dakota St. 11, South Dakota 13. A_5,004 (10,000).