USD men win in overtime

USD men win in overtime The South Dakota men's basketball team (2-0) pulled out a thrilling 105-94 double overtime victory over the Colorado School of Mines (0-4) at the UNO Thanksgiving Classic held in Omaha, NE Nov. 26.

USD let a 13-point halftime lead slip away in the second half before outscoring the Orediggers, 13-2, in the final overtime to collect the win.

Four players scored in double figures for the Coyotes, including a 28-point game from senior point guard Josh Mueller (Hartford). Mueller went 10-for-21 from the field, including five-of-11 from behind the 3-point arc to lead South Dakota.

One of Mueller's 3-pointers gave USD their 42-29 halftime lead with 32 seconds left in the half.

South Dakota extended their lead to 15, 44-29, 56 seconds into the second half on a jumper by Turner Trofholz (Schuyler, NE) who had a total of 19 points. Trofholz completed the double-double by adding a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Orediggers continued to chip away at USD's lead and tied the game at 63, with 7:43 left in the second half.

Colorado School of Mines garnered a number of 8-point leads in the last five minutes of the half, with their last at the 1:16 mark.

Coyote freshman Dustin Little (Castlewood), playing in just his second game in a USD uniform, hit a 3-pointer with 1:09 left to play to cut the lead to five.

Trofholz added an old-fashioned 3-point play with 51 seconds remaining in the period by converting a lay-up and draining his free throw after being fouled.

CSM made a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left to put the lead back to 4, but Little answered back with a lay-up.

Following, the conversion of one-of-two free throws by the Oredigger's Kevin Wagstaff, Little banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

In the first extra session, CSM generated another 8-point lead, 89-81, with 1:16 remaining, but the Coyotes clawed their way back.

Once again it was the freshman Little to the rescue. Little pulled down the rebound off a missed free throw with three seconds left and drove the length of the court before firing up another 3-point bomb and again banking it in to keep USD alive to see another five minutes of play with the score tied at 92-92.

The second overtime was all Coyotes as they picked up a lay-up by Trofholz to start the final stanza and ended it with a pair of free throws by Little. The lone Oredigger bucket was at the 4:05 mark

Little did not miss a shot in the game, as he finished with a career-high 21 points. He converted all six of his field goals, five of which were 3-pointers, including the two at the buzzer, and all four of his free throw attempts.

In his second game as a Coyote, David Nour (Armour) recorded 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting and a pair of free throws. Four of his field goals were 3-pointers.

South Dakota shot 52.2 percent from the field (35-of-67), including 61.5 percent (16-of-26) from downtown. The Coyotes made 70.4 percent (19-of-27) of their free throws. They also outrebounded CSM, 36-35.

Stephan Bahl led the Orediggers with 50 points, as he sank 20-of-31 field goals and 9-of-12 3-pointers. He accounted for over half of his team's points as the only other player to score in double figures was Wagstaff with 10.

CSM, as a team, shot 55.2 percent (37-of-67) from the field, 44.8 percent (13-of-29) from 3-point land, but had just 12 chances at the free throw line, making seven. The Orediggers were also guilty of committing 17 turnovers.