The Coyotes men’s basketball team fell to ORU on Thursday, 70-82. They bounced back on Saturday snapping their five-game losing streak with a 82-48 win over Kansas City
On Thursday, the Coyotes played the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, who are undefeated in conference play.
Oral Roberts came in with their regular starting lineup of seniors guard Max Abmas, forward Connor Vanover, guard Kareem Thompson, redshirt senior guard Carlos Jürgens and junior guard Issac McBride.
The Coyotes went in with a new starting lineup of senior guards Mason Archambault and Damani Hayes plus three new starters in freshman guard Jeremiah Coleman, sophomore guard Max Burchhill and sophomore guard Paul Bruns.
The Golden Eagles started off quickly, jumping out to an 11-0 lead with 15:14 left in the first half.
The Coyotes charged back to only be down by one (25-24) with 5:26 left in the first half after a 3-pointer from redshirt sophomore guard A.J. Plitzuweit.
The Golden Eagles ended the half with a 39-29 lead.
Oral Roberts continued to pull away in the second half going up by 25 (74-49) after a slam dunk from Thompson soaring through the air and contorting his body to throw it down.
The Coyotes’ comeback fell short as they lost 82-70.
Oral Roberts was led by Vanover, who had 19 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Former Summit League Player of the Year, Abmas, had 18 points. Thompson added 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Finally, Jürgens had a double-double with 15 points and ten rebounds.
Junior forward Tasos Kamateros led South Dakota with 20 points and nine rebounds. Plitzuweit added 16 points and junior guard Kruz Perrott-Hunt added 14 points.
Saturday was Senior Day for the Coyotes as they hosted the Kansas City Roos.
The Coyotes honored Archambault, Kamateros, Perrott-Hunt, Plitzuwiet, Hayes and team manager Nate Derner.
The implications of the game would affect their tournament seeding. If the Coyotes won, they would get the sixth seed in the Summit League Tournament. If they lost, they would drop to the ninth seed and have to play in a play-in game against North Dakota.
If the Roos won, they would obtain the sixth seed. If they lost, they would get the seventh seed and play in a play-in game against the Omaha Mavericks.
At halftime, the Coyotes were up 34-24 over the Roos. The Coyotes were led by Kamateros and Perrott-Hunt, who both had 12 points at halftime. Graduate student guard RayQuawndis Mitchell led the Roos with seven points and freshman forward Jeff Ngandu with six points.
The Coyotes went on a run in the second half and ended up winning by 34 points, 82-48.
The Roos were led by Mitchell with 13 points and Ngandu with nine.
Kamateros led the Coyotes with 24 points, followed by Perrott-Hunt with 21 points and Archambault with 13.
After the win, the Coyotes secured their spot as the sixth seed and will face North Dakota State on March 5 at 8:30 p.m. in the Summit League Tournament. With the loss, the Roos fell to the seventh seed and will face Omaha on March 3 at 8:30 p.m.
