South Dakota junior guard Casey Kasperbauer made seven three-pointers and scored a career-high 25 points to lead the Coyotes to a 68-65 win against CSUN Tuesday night inside The Matadome.
It was the third win a row for South Dakota (3-5), which returns to Vermillion and will host Youngstown State at 7 p.m. Friday.
Kasperbauer made 8 of 13 shots including 7 of 11 from beyond the arc. He also pulled down a career-high seven rebounds. Kasperbauer made 11 triples and averaged 21.5 points during the Coyotes’ two-game trip to California.
Stephan Hicks scored a game-high 27 points and had nine rebounds to lead CSUN (2-6), which lost a one-point game to South Dakota a year ago in Vermillion. Hicks was 9 of 13 from the field and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line.
South Dakota jumped out to an 11-0 lead, but trailed 34-33 late in the first half. Kasperbauer answered with five straight points to give the Coyotes a 38-34 advantage at the break. Kasperbauer had five three-pointers and 17 points in the first half.
Hicks knotted the game at 55-55 with 8:26 to go with back-to-back buckets. Eric Robertson answered with a field goal on the ensuing possession that ignited a 6-0 USD run and Tyler Larson hit a 3-pointer that gave the Coyotes a 64-57 lead with three minutes to go.
Hicks made two free throws with 10.9 seconds left that pulled the Matadors within one at 66-65. Brandon Bos was fouled and made two free throws for South Dakota that made it 68-65. Coyote guard Trey Norris deflected a pass on the defensive end that led to a jump ball and gave possession back to South Dakota.
South Dakota made nine three-pointers in all compared to a 2 of 6 effort by CSUN. Larson made all five shots he took from the field and had 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Bos finished with 12 points.
