DENVER, Colo. – Kaleb Stewart dropped a career-high 44 points as South Dakota (9-12, 2-4 Summit) scored its most points in a game this season, but fell to Denver 111-110 in double overtime on Thursday inside Hamilton Gymnasium.
Stewart’s new career-high is the most points scored in a game by a Coyote since 1967 when Jack Theeler scored 49 against Northern Iowa and the fourth-most in program history. Stewart went 16-of-31 from the field and 8-of-13 from beyond the arc in just over 43 minutes of action to become the 11th Coyote to score 40+ points in a game.
The nation’s leading scorer once again led Denver (13-8, 4-2 Summit) as Tommy Bruner dropped a game-high and career-high 49 points, the most points scored in a division one game this season. Bruner knocked down five three-pointers on 12 attempts, went 15-of-34 from the field, and scored 38 of his points after the halftime break.
It was Bruner’s steal on a South Dakota inbound play that led to the game-winning three pointer knocked down by Isaiah Addo-Ankrah. Bruner also knocked down a driving layup and drew contact to create a three-point play and send the game into a second overtime.
A back-and-forth battle from the beginning, neither team led by double-digits throughout the contest that saw 11 lead changes and 18 ties. South Dakota held a 5-2 lead early to start the game that was quickly taken back Denver. The Pioneers held the lead for a majority of the first half and took a 41-40 lead into halftime. Stewart hit his third three-pointer of the night just before the halftime buzzer to cut the lead to one. South Dakota made eight first-half three pointers on 61.5 percent shooting and shot 50 percent from the field.
Bostyn Holt came alive in the second half for the Coyotes, driving the lane and stringing together four-straight points on back-to-back trips to the free throw to help South Dakota extend the lead to seven early in the second half. The Coyotes led by as many as seven midway through the second half, but Denver finished regulation on a 10-4 scoring run to send the game into overtime.
Stewart took control in overtime on the offensive end for South Dakota, scoring 21 of his 44 points in the two extra frames. Bruner did the same for Denver, knocking down three big three-pointers and going 3-of-3 at the free throw line. Stewart’s and-one with 42.6 seconds to play in the first overtime gave South Dakota a 90-84 lead and seemed to possibly be the game-icing play. Bruner had something to say about that as he responded down the stretch with a four-point play to tie the game back up at 96-96 and send it to a second overtime.
The Coyotes and Pioneers once again traded baskets and turnovers in the second overtime. Stewart drove in yet another layup to score his 44th point and give USD a 110-108 lead. Isaiah Carr committed an offensive foul that gave South Dakota the ball back and a chance to win the game, but the Coyotes couldn’t hold on to the ball. Bruner lost the ball on a driving layup that could’ve tied the game but snagged the steal off the South Dakota inbound and dished it to Addo-Ankrah who hit the game-winning three.
Redshirt freshman Jevon Hill made his first career start for South Dakota and had 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from three. Lahat Thioune, Holt, and Bruns all finished in double-figure scoring and Mayuom Buom grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds. The Coyotes shot 52 percent from the field and 58.3 percent from three on the night.
Touko Tainamo recorded a double-double for Denver with 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Addo-Ankrah and Carr each added 12 points for the Pioneers.
South Dakota’s road swing continues at Kansas City on Saturday with a 7 p.m. tip-off inside Swinney Center.