VERMILLION, S.D. – South Dakota erased a 17-point deficit in the second half to take the lead in the final minute of Saturday’s game against Cal State Fullerton, but the Titans connected on a last second 3-pointer to win 87-85 in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
Vince Buzelis set a new career high in totals points for the second straight game, pouring in 26 today on 7-of-9 shooting and 12-of-15 from the free throw line. Buzelis notched his second career double-double with 10 rebounds. Josiah Dotzler had 13 points and Jahni Summers had 10 to round out the double-figure scoring for the Coyotes.
The Coyotes shot a higher percentage from the floor (44.8%) than the Titans (43.5%), but Cal State Fullerton was red-hot from deep connecting on 17-of-34 attempts from beyond the arc.
South Dakota got off to a strong start of Saturday’s game, building an 11-point lead at the 10-minute mark of the first half following a pair of free throws from Buzelis. While the Coyotes held the lead for the first 15 minutes, the Titans, behind 11 first half triples, began to swing the momentum in their direction. Fullerton grabbed its first lead of the afternoon at the 5:31 mark of the first half and would take a 49-41 lead into halftime.
Buzelis led the Yotes in the opening half with 12 points, as nine of the 10 Coyotes who saw the floor scored in the first 20 minutes.
The Titans owned the first 10 minutes of the second half and expanded their lead to 17, 74-57, with 10:10 left in the game. The Coyotes, however, would flip the script and put together a 20-3 run over the next five and a half minutes to tie the game at 77-77, Ethan Kizer knocked down a pair of treys in the run and Dotzler added six points. An and-one from Buzelis put USD ahead 81-80 with 2:29 remaining, and another Buzelis bucket gave the Yotes a three-point lead with 45 seconds remaining. However, South Dakota would miss four free throws in the final 15 seconds, and the Titans, trailing by one, would connect on a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to take an 87-85 win.
South Dakota will look to bounce back Tuesday when it welcomes Houston Christian to the SCSC. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
Story Provided by GoYotes.com
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