Damyean Dotson scored 21 points and Danrad Knowles added 16 as Houston handed South Dakota its first setback of the season, an 85-58 decision, in the semifinals of the Gulf Coast Showcase Tuesday inside Germain Arena.
The Cougars (3-0) advance to Wednesday’s championship game against Vermont, an 87-73 winner against Hofstra in the first semifinal Tuesday. South Dakota will take on Hofstra (2-3) in the third place match at 4 p.m. CT.
Houston led 13-2 eight minutes into the contest and never trailed. South Dakota got as close as five points, 35-30, on a jumper by Tyler Flack late in the first half, but the Cougars got two buckets in the final minute to take a 39-30 lead into the break.
Flack and Matt Mooney combined for 21 points in the first half on 9 of 13 shooting. The rest of the Coyotes were 3 of 15 and Houston surrendered just two offensive rebounds in the stanza.
Houston pulled away in the second half while limiting South Dakota to seven field goals. The Coyotes were 0 of 11 from beyond the arc in the second half and were 2 of 21 for the game. The Cougars made 9 of 20 from downtown. Dotson made 4 of 8 and Wes Vanbeck, who had 10 points off Houston’s bench, was 2 for 3.
Trey Dickerson and Trey Burch-Manning scored eight points each for USD in the second half and finished with nine and 10, respectively. Flack and Mooney led the Coyotes with 13 points apiece. The Coyotes averaged 83 points per game during their five-game win streak, but shot 37 percent from the field (19 of 51) against the Cougars.
