VERMILLION, S.D. (AP) — Shomari Lawrence and Travis Theis both ran for 100 yards and South Dakota defeated Southern Illinois 27-24 on Saturday after trailing by two touchdowns in the second quarter.
Eddie Ogamba’s 44-yard field goal with 2:31 remaining in the fourth quarter gave the Coyotes their first lead of the game and the Salukis went a quick four-and-out on their only remaining possession.
South Dakota had two second half touchdowns, one a Wesley Eliodor 15-yard pass from Aidan Bouman, the other a 29-yard run by Lawrence to tie the score.
Southern Illinois built a 21-7 second-quarter lead on a short touchdown run by Javon Williams and two touchdown passes from Nic Baker.
Lawrence had 122 yards on 11 carries and Theis added 108 yards on 21 carries for South Dakota (2-5, 1-3 Missouri Valley).
Southern Illinois (5-3, 4-1) got 100 yards on the ground from Romeir Elliott but Baker averaged only 4.4 yards per pass attempt, completing 28 of 43 for 190 yards.