South Dakota erased an eight-point halftime deficit and got 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench from Eric Robertson to beat Western Illinois 68-58 Thursday night inside Western Hall.
It was the Coyotes’ first win in Macomb since the 1969-70 season. South Dakota (10-10, 4-2 Summit) earned its sixth road win of the season, which leads the Summit and ranks in the top 20 nationally.
Western Illinois (7-11, 2-5 Summit) got 23 points from J.C. Fuller and 15 more from Garret Covington, but lost its fifth in a row. The Leathernecks fell to 7-3 at home this season.
Robertson had nine points and six boards in the second half. He, along with teammates Trey Norris and Sekou Harris, came off South Dakota’s bench and combined to outscore the Leathernecks 26-25 in the second stanza. Harris scored eight of his season-high 10 points in the second half. All nine of Norris’ points came in the second half.
