VERMILLION, S.D. – South Dakota State led for the first 20 minutes before South Dakota responded in the second half and pulled away to defeat the Jackrabbits, 75-70, on Saturday in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center to close out the Summit League men’s basketball regular season.
SDSU came out hot shooting. The Jackrabbits made their first five field goals and built its advantage to double digits 10 minutes into the opening half. A Luke Haertle 3-pointer gave SDSU a 36-19 lead at the 6:28 mark.
The Coyotes rallied back. The Jacks were up 40-28 with 2:42 remaining in the half when South Dakota followed with a seven-point scoring stretch. A pair of Damon Wilkinson free throws gave State a 42-35 edge, but a three-point play for USD’s Uzziah Buntyn made it a 42-38 score at halftime.
The Jackrabbits finished the first half 53.3% from the field while USD was 41.4%. The Yotes went 11-for-14 at the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes while SDSU made five of its seven attempts.
South Dakota had a strong start to the second half. The Yotes scored the first seven points to take their first lead since the opening minute of the contest.
SDSU utilized a seven-point scoring run of its own as a Jaden Jackson 3-pointer pushed the Jackrabbits back in front, 51-49, with 13:14 to play. The Yotes scored five ensuing points to go ahead again.
The two sides stayed within a possession for the next nine minutes. A Vince Buzelis jumper put the Yotes ahead 70-64 as the clocked dipped to 3:48. Joe Sayler made a layup with two minutes on the clock to put the Jacks within three, however South Dakota made five throws down the stretch to close out meeting out.
South Dakota outshot SDSU by a 50-32% margin over the final 20 minutes. The big difference came at the free throw line. The Coyotes went 25-for-31 (80.6%) at the charity stripe while the Jacks were 9 of 13 (69.2%).
South Dakota State fell to 14-17 overall and 7-9 in Summit League play. South Dakota improved to 16-15 (8-8).
NOTES
- Sayler was the game’s leading scorer with 24 points. He also had a game-high six assists.
- Haertle had eight rebounds to pace the Jackrabbits in the category. SDSU outrebounded USD by a 40-27 margin.
- South Dakota had five double-digit scorers in the contest. The Yotes’ Cameron Fens and Jordan Crawford each scored 17.
UP NEXT
South Dakota State prepares for postseason play as the Jackrabbits look ahead to the 2026 Summit League Basketball Championships. SDSU will be the No. 7 seed in the upcoming conference tournament slating the Jackrabbits for an approximate 8:30 p.m. start on Thursday, March 5.