'It always comes down to one play': USD men's basketball team falls by 2 in Summit League quarterfinal
South Dakota coach Eric Peterson didn’t have much interest in focusing on the controversial no-call that proved to be the difference in the nightcap of Sunday’s action at Summit League Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Instead, he brought up the other moments that built to that finish — the turnover that preceded the shot, the slow start, the inability to slow down North Dakota State at the free-throw line — all of which culminated in a crushing season-ending loss for the Coyotes.
Grant Nelson notched his 11th double-double of the season, finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds, and the third-seeded Bison pulled out a 70-68 win over No. 6 USD to advance to the semifinals of the tournament at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.
“I thought we played well enough to deserve to win, and it always comes down to one play. But it’s not always the last play that it comes down to,” Peterson said. “It’s a game within a game, and you win or lose games throughout the game, not just one play.
“I thought we played well enough and gave ourselves a chance. As a coach, when you lose some games and you just get beat, you’ve got a sick feeling in your stomach, but when you think you played well enough to deserve to win, that’s what really gets you as a coach, and I’m sure as a player, too.”
The game saw 12 lead changes and 10 ties, with NDSU (15-16) coming out on the winning end to set up a showdown with second-seeded South Dakota State at 8:30 p.m. Monday.
“This is about as proud as I’ve been of the group in my tenure,” NDSU coach David Richman said. “They coined the phrase, ‘Baby Bison.’ We’ve got seven guys on this roster that have never been in this building, and we just played a team that the main six or seven guys have played multiple games in here. … We need to flush this one pretty quick. We’ve obviously got a tremendous challenge tomorrow night.”
A.J. Plitzuweit led USD (12-19) with 17 points, while Kruz Perrott-Hunt chipped in 16 points. Tasos Kamateros had a double-double for the Yotes, finishing with 11 points and 12 boards.
USD held a one-point lead at 21-20 before the Bison closed the first half on a 13-4 swing, culminating in a floater by Nelson that gave NDSU a 33-25 lead heading into halftime.
Both teams shot less than 40 percent from the floor in the first half, including a 9.1% effort (1-of-11) from the Coyotes from beyond the arc.
USD was determined to correct that in the second half, as Kamateros drained a quick triple from the top of the arc to get the scoring started for the Yotes. They eventually clawed their way back and regained the lead at the 12:26 mark when Plitzuweit drained a trey that gave his team a 45-44 advantage.
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“At halftime, I was like, ‘Guys, we’re going to start making some shots. We need to take good shots. We just need to stay with it.’ And we did and came storming back in the second half and took the lead,” Peterson said. “I’m confident with this team on offense. It’s defensively where sometimes this year, it’s gotten a little out of hand.”
From there, the game went back-and-forth. USD was never able to pull ahead by more than four points the rest of the way. The Bison hit cold stretches in the second half while shooting from the floor, but they managed to consistently get to the free-throw line to stymie those stretches.
In the end, NDSU finished with 28 attempts at the charity stripe, converting on 20 of those chances, while USD had half as many attempts, shooting 13 of 14.
“When a team shoots twice as many free throws as you, it’s really hard to win that game. It really is,” Peterson said. “Did we foul more? I thought we were in attack mode. They were coming into our double teams, which, it’s pretty rare when you double team the post or a drive that you do foul, so I guess I see the game a different way.”
The Yotes held a 68-67 lead and had possession inside the final minute of the game when an errant pass by Perrott-Hunt deflected off Kamateros’ hands and out of bounds. Tajavis Miller answered with a layup to give NDSU the lead with 15 seconds left, and after taking a timeout, USD appeared to draw up a perfect play. Damani Hayes peeled off and retrieved a pass in the post, and as three Bison defenders collapsed on the ball, Hayes’ shot was blocked by Miller.
Boden Skunberg corralled the rebound and was quickly fouled. He hit the second of his two free throws, but with only four seconds remaining, the Yotes heaved up a desperation attempt that missed the mark.
“I’m not sure I can comment on the last play,” Peterson said about Hayes’ shot attempt. “When you talk to the player — and Damani is one of our toughest kids, and he never complains about anything — ironically, about two weeks ago, when we had a little adversity with our team, I met with Mason [Archambault] and Damani and just said, ‘Our program is going to be built on what you guys are about.’
“They bring it every day in practice. They never complain. They show up. They’re leaders. They’re great people to be around. They love South Dakota, so when you ask Damani how he felt — and maybe he thinks it’s a foul — you take his word for it.”
Skunberg finished with 17 points, while Miller added 12 points for the Bison, who shot 22 of 56 from the floor (39.3 percent). Andrew Morgan contributed 10 points for NDSU.
Hayes and Archambault are the lone seniors departing from this year’s team, and after the game, Kamateros was complimentary of the bond this year’s team formed throughout the year.
“I feel like our whole team is very close, and that’s what people understand about it, that we’re actually family,” Kamateros said. “That’s why I feel like we get all the support. It was a good season overall, and I just feel like it was down to one play. It’s tough, but I love this team. I love everybody — the coaching staff, the players.
“It’s a sick feeling right now, but eventually I’m going to think back on it and be like, ‘That’s a team that I loved to play with.’”
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: USD men's basketball team falls by 2 in Summit League quarterfinal
