USD falls to Oakland in hard-fought game
With just five games left on the schedule before the Summit League tournament, the University of South Dakota men’s basketball team hoped to snap a three-game losing streak Thursday night against Summit opponent Oakland.
With 4.3 seconds left in the game, Oakland guard Duke Mondy missed one of two free throws to put the Grizzlies up by a single point. Senior point guard Juevol Myles came off a screen to take the baseline inbounds pass coast-to-coast and attempted a runner at the buzzer near the free throw line.
Myles’ shot fell shy of the hoop and the Coyotes dropped yet another hard-fought game, losing 76-75 to the Grizzlies in the DakotaDome.
USD fell to 8-17 on the season and 4-9 in conference play. Oakland improved to 20-7 for the season and moved to 10-4 in the Summit league, tied for third with North Dakota State. Thursday night marked the fifth time USD has lost by a margin of less than five points.
Coyotes head coach Dave Boots said the team played well throughout the game, but Oakland was able to finish.
“We had some crucial possessions that we scored on and we did get some stops that gave us a chance. It was a hard fought game, but they won, we lost,” Boots said.
Boots said the team executed the final inbounds play as designed, which was all he could ask from his players.
“Four seconds is not going to give you a lay up,” Boots said. “But we ran the play very well and got it where we wanted. The runner didn’t go but (Myles) had a chance to make that shot and he made some big plays throughout the game to give us the chance.”
In retrospect, a disappointed Myles said he would have rather attempted a pull-up jumper instead of the runner in the lane.
“The play was for me to come off the screen,” Myles said. “I had Casey (Kasperbauer) and Brandon (Bos) on the wings and I looked up and there was three seconds left on the clock. In hindsight, I should have pulled up but I threw up a runner and it didn’t go my way.”
Myles said he couldn’t spend too much time lingering on what could have happened.
“I wish I had that play back but that’s life; I just have to move on, get better,” he said.
On the intense physical game, Myles said there is no love lost between USD and Oakland.
“These two teams don’t like each other,” he said. “I don’t know what it is. I’ve been here for two years now and every game I’ve watched or played in is physical, there is a lot of chatter and both coaches got fierce.”
Momentum and leads were back-and-forth through most of the contest. Oakland led 10-6 after the first four minutes of play but the Coyotes rallied back to go on a 16-8 run over a seven-minute stretch. A Duke Mondy three-pointer brought the Grizzlies within one, and Oakland buried another three pointer after a missed jumper by USD’s Jordan Boots.
The Coyotes were able to gain momentum after the Grizzlies took the lead, pushing the ball in transition and getting to the free throw line. After Karim Rowson tied the game 24-24, USD would go on an 18-8 run led by Myles and sophomore Brandon Bos.
USD led at the half by a score of 42-34, with Myles leading the team in scoring with 15 points. Bos added 10 points while first-year Casey Kasperbauer dished out a total of four assists
In the second half, the Grizzlies came out hot from the start, led by the shooting of Petros, Mondy and Drew Valentine. Oakland went on a 13-2 run to take a 47-45 lead with 14:28 left to go in the game.
Following a USD timeout, the two squads would go on to trade leads for much of the second half. Neither team led by more than five points until Oakland went up 68-62 with four and a half minutes remaining.
Back-to-back three pointers by Myles and Bos put the Coyotes within striking distance, swinging the momentum to set the stage for the final minutes.
With just 2:32 left in the game, the score was tied 70-70. Following a missed jumper by Bos, Oakland forward Corey Petros was able to battle contact to convert a layup and sub sequentially drained the following free throw to make it 73-70 in favor of Oakland.
On the following possession, senior point guard Juevol Myles buried a three-pointer jumper with a defender right in his face, knotting the score up at 73-all.
After a series of unsuccessful possessions for both teams, Petros made another basket to put Oakland up 75-73 with 40 seconds left in the game. Oakland fouled Myles on the ensuing possession, putting USD in the bonus.
The senior from Ajax, Canada went to the line to shoot one-and-one and calmly drained both free throws to tie, 75-75. Myles fouled Petros on the following possession, leading to the final moments.
Despite missing the final shot, Myles led the team in scoring with 23 points on 7-13 shooting including 3-6 from beyond the arch. Bos finished with 22 points, shooting 4-6 from three-point range. The Canadian combo-guard Bos also contributed a team-high six rebounds. Additionally, Kasperbauer contributed six assists while junior Steve Tecker finished with eight points and three steals.
A total of four Oakland scorers finished in double digits, led by Petros with 17. Travis Bader and Mondy each added 16 while Valentine contributed 14 points on 7-10 field goal shooting. Petros and Valentine also finished with double-digit rebounds, as Petros snared 13 boards and Valentine had 10.
USD will face Fort Wayne in the DakotaDome at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16.
