South Dakota sophomore guard Matt Mooney scored a game-high 23 points and the Coyotes made some big free throws late to beat Denver 75-69 Wednesday inside Magness Arena, ending the Pioneers’ six-game win streak.
South Dakota (11-7) improved to 2-1 in Summit League play and ended a three-game skid against Denver. The Coyotes made 9 of 19 from three-point range and were 22 of 30 from the free-throw line to net their third true road win of the season.
Denver (9-6, 1-1 Summit) got 14 points from Joe Rosga and 13 more from Daniel Amigo, but made 5 of 20 from downtown in having a four-game home win streak snapped. The Pioneers were shooting 40 percent from 3-point range as a team entering the game, the second-best mark in the Summit.
All five of Mooney’s 20-point efforts this season have come in true road games. He needed just nine shots from the field to get to 23 Wednesday, but four were triples and he made 7 of 12 from the charity stripe. He made 5 of 6 in the final 19 seconds to seal the win.
