Coyote men lose in Summit League tournament

After sneaking into the Summit League as the eight seed, the USD men lost in the opening round against number one seed Fort Wayne 70-86 Saturday evening, bringing their season to an end.

Coming into the game USD had lost both conference games against the Mastodons.

Fort Wayne led 39-33 at halftime, as the Coyotes were able to hang close through much of the first half. It was the second half where Fort Wayne took control. The Mastodons were up by as much as 20 in the second half. A late Coyote surge, spurred on by playing full court press, was unable to catch the top ranked Mastodons.

The Coyotes had a to deal with a hot Fort Wayne team. The Mastodons shot nearly 51 percent from the field. The Summit League Player of the Year, Fort Wayne’s senior guard Max Landis, led the way for the Mastodons. Landis scored 24 and had six assists. Freshamn John Konchar had a huge game for Fort Wayne, scoring 16 points and grabbing 16 rebounds.

USD was led by senior guard Tre Burnette. Burnette had 23 points and 7 rebounds. Junior forward Tyler Flack also had a strong night, he scored 15 and grabbed nine boards.

The Coyotes finish 14-18 on the season this year.