Morehead State holds of USD men's basketball team

A last-second shot bounced off for The University of South Dakota men’s basketball team as Morehead State (Ky.) edged the Coyotes, 66-64, in a nonconference thriller Monday night at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D. The Coyotes (6-6) fought hard to the final buzzer against the Eagles (6-6), a 2009 NCAA tournament qualifier. The game featured 10 ties and six lead changes.

USD held a 63-62 lead with 3:30 left after senior guard Roman Gentry (Sioux City, Iowa) hit two free throws. Morehead answered with a three-pointer from Maze Stallworth, pushing the Eagles in front 65-63 with 1:45 left.

USD cut the lead to 65-64 after senior forward Tyler Cain (Rochester, Minn.) hit a free throw with 3.6 seconds left.  Stallworth hit 1-of-2 free throws to push the lead to 66-64 with 3.1 seconds left, and USD called a timeout to set up a final play with 2.6 seconds left.

The Coyotes got the in-bounds pass to Cain, who dished to freshman guard Jake Thomas (Racine, Wisc.) on the side. Thomas let go a long three-pointer just before the buzzer sounded, leaving the Coyotes on the short end in a hard-fought battle.

Cain had 17 points and 15 rebounds for USD, while Gentry, Thomas and junior guard Kendall Cutler (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had 10 each.  Sophomore guard Louie Krogman (White River, S.D.) had six assists and Cutler had four steals.

 The Coyotes got off to a good start, taking an early 10-5 lead after junior guard Mitchell Bouie (Chicago, Ill.) converted a layup off of an assist from Cutler. The Eagles went on a 5-0 run to take a 17-14 lead, but Krogman canned a three-pointer to tie the game at 17-17 with 9:23 to go in the first half.

 USD regained the lead at 21-19 after a Cain basket with 7:44 left, starting an 11-2 run that pushed the Coyote lead to 30-21 with 4:22 to go in the first half. Thomas had five points during that run, including a big three-pointer. The Coyotes shot well in the first half, hitting 15 of their first 25 field goal attempts (60 percent).

The Coyotes maintained the lead for the rest of the half, taking a 36-29 into the break. USD shot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) in the first half but also was solid on the defensive end, holding Morehead to 38.2 percent (13-of-34) from the floor. USD spread its scoring out in the first half, with senior center Steve Smith (Sioux Falls, S.D.) leading the way with eight points. Gentry and Cain each had six points, while Krogman had five assists.

 The Eagles opened the second half on an 8-2 run to cut the Coyote lead to 38-37. USD pushed the lead to 42-37 when Thomas drained a three-pointer with 13:42 left . Moments later, Cain converted a three-point play to extend USD’s lead back to 47-41 with 11:28 left. The Eagles fought back to tie the game at 53-53, and from there, the game seesawed back and forth.

USD resumes action at No. 12 Kansas State on Sunday, Jan. 3. The game begins at noon in Manhattan, Kan.

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