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MOREHEAD, Ky. – Senior Charlie Westbrook knocked down a three-pointer from the left corner with 28 seconds remaining and the South Dakota men’s basketball team hung on for a 57-56 victory over Morehead State on Saturday evening at Johnson Arena.
The Coyotes improve to 4-5 on the season with their second straight win, while the Eagles slip to 4-7 overall with their second consecutive heartbreaking setback.
“This is certainly a tough loss,” Morehead State Head Coach Donnie Tyndall said. “We dug a big hole in the first half and had to play catch up the rest of the night. We got a five-point lead with less than four minutes to go, but couldn’t finish the game.”
South Dakota drilled 65 percent of its field-goal attempts (13-of-20) in the first half and enjoyed a 37-24 lead heading into the locker room. The Coyotes pushed their advantage to 43-26 with 17:31 remaining, but Morehead State responded with a 28-6 run to take a five-point lead with 3:41 left.
A jumper by Westbrook and three-pointer by South Dakota senior Louie Krogman evened the score with 2:21 to play. Junior Kahlil Owens gave MSU a two-point edge on a put-back with 40 seconds remaining, but Westbrook answered with the game’s final basket just 12 seconds later to give USD its second road victory of the campaign.
Krogman finished with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, while Westbrook added 10 points on 4-of-7 from the field.
Owens and classmate Milton Chavis combined for 21 points and 24 rebounds to lead Morehead State. Owens tallied seven points and a career-best 15 rebounds, while Chavis matched his career-high of 14 points and pulled down nine boards.
Senior Terrance Hill added 13 points for the Eagles, while classmates Ty Proffitt and Lamont Austin handed out four assists each in the defeat.
South Dakota finished the affair at 50 percent from the floor (21-of-42), while Morehead State shot 39 percent overall (20-of-52). The Coyotes also made 8-of-17 from long distance, while the Eagles drilled just 4-of-19 from beyond the arc.
“Driving the ball has been one of our Achilles heels this year,” Tyndall said. “We were +18 in rebounding tonight (39-21), which is great, but we’re still not making enough plays off the dribble.”
MSU is idle until Dec. 19 when it visits Binghamton at 8:15 p.m. ET. The Eagles will take the next two days off to focus on semester finals before getting back to the practice floor and film room.
“We’re only one-third of the way through the season, so there’s still a lot of basketball to be played,” Tyndall added. “We’re still in the process of developing a relatively young team. This next month will be important for us to make those strides.”
