.South Dakota senior guard Tyler Larson registered game highs of 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Coyotes to a 77-62 win against IUPUI Saturday inside the DakotaDome.
It was the fourth win in a row for South Dakota (14-13, 8-6 Summit), which moved into fourth place in the Summit League standings and could jump into a tie for third place by the end of the night. The Coyotes improved to 4-0 all-time against IUPUI in Vermillion and avenged a 15-point loss to the Jaguars back on Jan. 24.
Larson notched his 10th double-double and his 13 boards are one shy of his career high. He entered the game as the Summit leader in both categories. Larson was 7 of 14 from the field, 3 of 5 from 3-point range and 4 of 4 from the line. He pulled down six boards in the final five minutes to seal the win.
IUPUI (9-19, 5-9) got 21 points from Marcellus Barksdale and 18 from Mason Archie, but lost for the sixth time in seven games since beating South Dakota. Barksdale and Archie combined to make 15 of 21 shots. Archie made four of the Jaguars’ seven 3-pointers.
IUPUI made 15 of 23 from the field in the first half, but trailed 40-37 at halftime. The Jaguars committed 11 turnovers in the opening stanza which led to 10 points on the other end.
South Dakota forward Tre Burnette scored 11 of his 12 points in the first half and finished the game with six steals – the most by a Coyote in five seasons.
Larson made back-to-back 3-pointers six minutes into the second half that gave the Coyotes a 56-48 lead. Barksdale countered with a jumper and Archie drilled a 3 that made it 56-53 with 10:51 to go.
South Dakota guard Trey Norris scored seven points on one possession that gave USD its first double-digit lead of the game. He stole an errant pass at midcourt, scored a layup and was intentionally fouled by D.J. McCall during the conversion. Norris made both technical free throws and hit a 3-pointer on the possession that followed to make it 63-53 with 10 to play. Norris had 11 points in the game.
Archie’s final 3 made it 66-58 with 8:37 to go, but the Jaguars scored four points more the rest of the way. IUPUI made two of its final 11 shots and Larson cleaned up nearly every miss down the stretch.
Brandon Bos made three from downtown and, with 11 points, was the fourth Coyote to score in double figures. South Dakota made 10 of 22 from beyond the arc and hit 22 treys in two games during the week. It’s the fifth time this season the Yotes have made at least 10 threes in one game.
South Dakota wraps up the regular season next week with home games against Denver Wednesday and South Dakota State Saturday. The Summit League Tournament starts March 7 in Sioux Falls.
