South Dakota men's basketball picks up big win over Oral Roberts, women's team cruises

Michael McCleary
Sioux Falls Argus Leader

South Dakota (18-11, 11-7 Summit) picked up a major conference victory in its final regular-season game of the year, beating Oral Roberts (18-11, 12-6) 92-87 Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

USD forward Tasos Kamateros hit a layup to make it a two-possession game with under a minute to play, forcing ORU to score quickly, but then foul. The Coyotes won the game at the line.

South Dakota was sparked by guard Erik Oliver, who scored 13 points, helping the Coyotes cause a big first-half lead for the Golden Eagles to nearly vanish by the time the game went to the break. Kamateros has 23 points (including the final two free throws of the game), followed by 12 by Mason Archambault and 12 from Kruz Perrott-Hunt.

The Coyotes trailed by 14 points at one point in the second half, but erupted in the final minutes of the second half to cut it to just one point, 42-41 at the break. As much as the Coyotes offense thrived, the USD's defense did its job to keep Oral Roberts from countering.

The Golden Eagles, even with 11 3-pointers in the game, were without an answer. They scored just nine points in the first six minutes of the half. ORU star guard Max Abmas missed a pair of free throws. South Dakota drained multiple 3's in a row. Its lead grew as large as 13 points.

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Oral Roberts made a run back, though, cutting the lead to six before the clock ticked below 10 minutes in the second half. That set up for back-and-forth late in the game, but swung back after Kruz Perrott-Hunt hit a layup and drew a charge on consecutive possessions. Then Kamateros hit a 3 and the Coyotes drew another charge.

USD forward Damani Hayes added a score right after. The Coyotes were in control, and after a final ORU push, held on.

South Dakota women's basketball wins final home game big

South Dakota women's basketball used a big second half to cruise past Oral Roberts 78-49 Saturday at Sanford Coyote Sports Center

The Coyotes (23-5, 16-1 Summit) led by just 10 at the start of the third quarter, but outscored the Golden Eagles (15-14, 10-8) 40-21 in the final two quarters to seal yet another dominant win in their home finale. 

Kyah Watson led South Dakota with 18 points off the bench, sacrificing her usual spot in the starting five for senior Regan Sankey, who was playing in her final home game.

South Dakota guard Chloe Lamb shoots a layup against Oral Roberts on Feb. 26, 2022.

Senior guards Liv Korngable and Chloe Lamb added 16 points apiece for the Coyotes on senior day, with freshman Grace Larkins adding 16 of her own off the bench for USD. Senior center Hannah Sjerven had nine points and senior forward Regan Sankey got nine minutes of gametime, all four checking out with two mintues left to go in the game to a warm greeting from the Coyotes bench.

USD's offense took a while to get going Saturday and Oral Roberts cut the lead as low as four points in the second quarter. But back-to-back 3's from Korngable and the freshman Watson gave the Coyotes a cushion that only grew from there. 

South Dakota plays its final game of the season Monday at Western Illinois. 

Follow Sioux Falls Argus Leader reporter Michael McCleary on Twitter @mikejmccleary.