Daum's game-winner lifts Jacks over Coyotes

Saturday, December 31

Brookings, S.D.

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

8-9, 1-1

South Dakota

10-7, 1-1

South Dakota

South Dakota State

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

12/31/2016 3:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

The New Year's Eve ball drop and celebration came early for South Dakota State fans as the Jackrabbits used a Mike Daum game-winning shot to take down in-state rival South Dakota, 73-72, inside Frost Arena Saturday.

Down one with 11.0 seconds to play, SDSU got to the ball to Daum and let the big man go to work as he hit a contested layup with 2.8 seconds remaining. USD missed a long 3-pointer on the other end and SDSU kept the Coyotes winless at Frost Arena in their Division I era.

SDSU (8-9, 1-1 Summit League) and USD (10-7, 1-1 Summit League) both led by as many as eight in a game full of momentum swings as the Jacks fired 47.7 percent from the field and USD was 41.9 percent on field goals. Beyond the arc, SDSU was 9 of 22 (40.9 percent) and USD finished 8 of 30 (26.7 percent). From the charity stripe the Jacks had 12 more attempts (27-15) and hit 22 compared to USD's 12 made free throws.

Daum scored a game-high 30 points to go alongside seven rebounds as the Jackrabbit hit 13 of 16 at the free throw line. Andre Wallace (12 points), Reed Tellinghuisen (11 points) and A.J. Hess (10 points) were also in double figures for the Jacks and all grabbed six rebounds apiece.

USD's Matt Mooney led the Coyotes with 22 points as Burch-Manning (15 points), Trey Dickerson (14 points) and Carlton Hurst (13 points) also hit double-digits. Three Coyotes fouled out of the game as USD was whistled for 26 personal fouls (compared to SDSU's 18).

A pair of treys from Tellinghuisen helped SDSU open up a five-point (10-5) lead early in the game, and as the teams traded buckets the Jacks led 14-9 at the under-12 media timeout. From there, a cold spell hit the Jacks and USD climbed back to tie it, 19-all, over the next five minutes as SDSU did not hit a field goal in that span. A second chance layup from Daum ended the drought at 6:31 and put the Jacks back ahead, 21-19. USD regained the lead moments later, 23-21, before a 9-0 run for SDSU provided seperation and helped the Jacks take a 35-27 lead into the half.

Daum led all scorers with 13 in the opening half and pulled down five rebounds. Hess, Tellinghuisen and Theisen all had six points as well for SDSU as Tellinghuisen snagged four boards.

As a team, SDSU shot 46.2 percent from the field and limited the Coyotes to a 30.6 mark on field goals with only one 3-pointer in 16 attempts (6.3 percent).

USD came out blazing from the locker room and tore off a 17-3 run to open the final frame, turning the tide to go up six on the Jackrabbits (44-38) with 14:35 to play. SDSU briefly regained its composure with five unanswered, but the Coyotes continued to push and took a 51-43 lead near the 11-minute mark behind a Mooney 3-pointer.

Seconds later, Tellinghuisen hit a 3-pointer on the other end to open a 13-2 SDSU run that began with eight unanswered as the home team snagged a 56-53 lead with 8:07 on the clock.

The Jackrabbits looked to pull away several times, but could stretch its lead only to four on several occasions before USD knotted the score, 64-64, behind Dan Jech's free throws at 3:33.

SDSU moved the advantage back to four (68-64) over the next minute-plus after Daum hit free throws, but a deep 3-pointer from Mooney brought the Coyotes back within one at 2:04, setting up a wild finish that saw four lead changes in the final minute.

Hurst and Wallace each had two free throws as the game moved inside 36 seconds, and after Hess sunk the back end of a 1-and-1 at the free throw line, SDSU held a two-point, 71-69, lead with 20 seconds remaining. On the other end, Burch-Manning capitalized on an old-fashioned 3-point play to move USD into the driver's seat, and with no timeouts, Daum and the Jackrabbit offense used late-game heroics to defend their home court.

Head Coach T.J. Otzelberger
On today's win ...
"You have to earn them all, and I felt like our guys certainly did that tonight. Winning is tough and this is a great league. Every play means so much and fortunately we were able to make a few more plays and come away with the victory."

On team's first half defense ...
"Our guys did a great job in the first half. We brought energy and were contesting shots early. I thought we were doing a great job of making them take the shot that we wanted them to take."

On team's resilience ...
"We talked about it in the locker room after. With 11:07 left we were down eight, and it felt like the other night we weren't as stubborn in getting the ball inside. That is the advantage that this team has. We can pound it inside, work through Mike and also Ian and Reed, and get them to the free throw line. Tonight, our guys were very, very stubborn and stuck to that plan and eventually it worked itself out for us."

On Daum's last-second shot ...
"It's a play that we have actually talked about a lot. Mike trails the play and the point guard pitches the ball back and he's coming with a full head of steam. It's tough because he can shoot, he can drive it and we were in the double bonus so you have to keep your hands off."

On balanced scoring effort ...
"That's what we need. We need to have four guys in double figures. Daum is going to get his and everybody else needs to be shot ready and ready to score. I think it makes it really hard for other teams to guard us when other people are stepping up and scoring and making plays."

On the team showing toughness today ...
"There are so many small plays that are the difference between winning and losing. There were a million block/charge calls, there are two-handed rebounds, there are loose balls, there are so many plays and our guys showed that they can come up and make those plays in a tight game."

On the rebounding advantage tonight ...
"It's something we have certainly talked about. They're a very good offensive rebounding team and I think we did a decent job. Part of that might have been because they took 18 more shot attempts than us, but overall we are happy. To be on the winning edge of the rebound battle is something that we are pleased with."

On facing Western Illinois on the road next ...
"There certainly aren't easy road games in this league. You've got nine teams that have all showed at different times that they can be really good in really different ways. Everyone is really tough. Winning on the road is a challenge, and there are eight opponents in this league who are trying to protect their home base just like we are."

Game Notes

SDSU now leads the all-time series with USD, 125-92-1.
Mike Daum reached double figures for the 46th time in his career and 16th time this season. He also reached 20 points for the 12th time this season and 19th time in his career and went over 30 for the fourth time in his career.
With 30 points in today's game, Daum is now at 901 points for his career. There are only two players in SDSU history (Chris White and Steve Lingenfelter) who have joined the 1,000 points club in their second season.
Daum had 13 points in the first half, and though he didn't score until 9:22 of the second, he scored 17 more points down the stretch.
With the win, SDSU is now even with USD, 4-all, in the 2016-17 SD Corn Showdown Series.