March 12, 2010

Photo Gallery

South Dakota 76, Texas-Pan American 71

OREM, Utah - Top-seed South Dakota defeated Texas-Pan American, 76-71, to advance to tomorrow's Great West Conference Tournament finals at Orem, Utah.

The Coyotes, the GWC's regular-season champions, were tested for the third time this season by the Broncs.

In the first game on January 30th at Edinburg, Texas, USD pulled out a 72-71 victory over UTPA. In the second game on March 5th, the Coyotoes got an 85-79 overtime win at Vermillion, S.D. Today, on a neutral floor, South Dakota enjoyed a one-point lead with seven minutes remaining in the first half before Nick Weiermiller hit a three-pointer with 6:02 to play to give the Broncs a lead that they wouldn't relinquish until 5:27 remaining in the game.

Texas-Pan American took a 35-29 lead into the locker room at the half and would build its lead to as much as 11 points at the 9:21 mark.

Jared Maree cut the Coyote lead to 72-71 with 0:39 remaining but couldn't capitalize on a USD turnover, and the Broncs saw their season come to an end.

"Another hard fought game with UTPA," said South Dakota coach and GWC Coach of the Year Dave Boots. "All three of them were incredibly tough games that went right down to the end having to make crucial plays. I can't say enough about the toughness of this group of kids and the ability they have to play in close games and make tough shots. I'm just very proud of the effort they had and certainly a great effort by Texas-Pan American. He does a great job coaching them and those kids played hard. This group has never quit all year. They have made incredible plays down the stretch."

Jake Thomas, a member of the GWC's All-Newcomer team, led four Coyotes in double figures with 19 points, shooting 50 percent (4-8) from beyond the arc and 5-6 (.833) from the foul line. GWC Player of the Year Tyler Cain posted a double-double with 16 points and 17 rebounds. Also in double figures for USD were Kendall Cutler with 18 points and first-team all-GWC selection Roman Gentry with 13 points, including 4-6 from the three-point line. Cain also posted five blocked shots and Cutler dished out seven assists in the win.

The Broncs were led by All-Newcomer team member Aaron Urbanus with 15 points and honorable mention all-GWC Maree with 11.

"Obviously I thought it was one heck of a college basketball game," said UTPA coach Ryan Marks. "From the standpoint of my team, I couldn't be prouder of these guys. Our record at the end doesn't really reflect the distance we have come as a team. If you go back and watch games we played earlier through now and evaluate the caliber of basketball we are playing, we have come light-years. That is a great tribute to a really special group of young guys. I have a lot of returners and I look forward to building on this with them next year."

South Dakota will face the winner of the Houston Baptist-NJIT game in the tournament finals on Saturday.

USD-UTPA Box Score