Jesse Becker scored a game-high 23 points off the bench as South Dakota defeate Minnesota State 80-61.

VERMILLION, S.D. -- Led by 23 points off the bench from Jesse Becker, The University of South Dakota men’s basketball team ran past Minnesota State University 80-61. With the win the Coyotes, who are ranked 4th in the nation, move to within a half a game of MSU for first place in the NCC.

Coming off of two of their lowest shooting performances of the season, the Coyotes (19-1, 4-1 NCC) showed very few signs of their recent shooting woes as they shot 52.6 percent (30-of-57) from the floor. Minnesota State (16-5, 5-1 NCC), however, did not share USD’s good shooting fortune. The Mavericks shot just 32.9 percent from the floor and were 3-of-22 from the three-point line.

The Coyotes jumped on MSU early, staking a nine-point lead just under four minutes into the game. Three-pointers by Dylan Grimsley (Jr., Sioux City, Iowa) and Eric Hall (Sr., Huron, S.D.) boosted The U to an 8-0 lead. Mitch Gosson made a layup to give the Mavericks their first points of the game, but USD responded with basket and a free throw to go up 11-2.

Minnesota State would put together a run of its own by also going on an 8-0 run to cut the Coyote lead to 11-10. They picked up another basket from Gosson and a pair of baskets from Atila Santos, one of which cut the USD lead down to one.

The one-point deficit would be as close as MSU would get for the rest of the game. Back-to-back layups by Becker and Mitch Begeman (Jr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) got South Dakota back in rhythm. Becker and Begeman would then go on to hit three 3-pointers in a span of 2:02 to put the Coyotes up 24-13.

The two teams traded baskets for most of the final minutes of the first half as the Coyotes took a 41-30 lead into intermission. Santos opened up the second half with a basket to cut the lead down to nine before USD would go on another run, this time outscoring Minnesota State 7-1. That scoring burst allowed the Coyotes to hold onto a double-digit lead for all but one minute and 31 seconds in the remainder of the game.

Becker’s three-point shooting proved to be a huge lift for South Dakota. He finished the night shooting 5-of-7 from behind the arc and was 9-of-13 overall from the field. His 23 points were a game-high and it marked fourth time this season that he came off the bench and scored over 20.

Hall and Steve Smith (Jr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) also posted double-figures for the Coyotes. Hall needed just seven shots to score 12 points while also grabbing four rebounds. He was quiet in the second half due to foul trouble, as nine of his 12 points came in the first half. Smith had 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting.

Tyler Cain (So., Rochester, Minn.) and Dustin Little (Sr., Castlewood, S.D.) were both close to posting double-doubles in the win. Cain had eight points, nine rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals. Little finished the night with seven points and nine rebounds in his first start since December 30.

Santos led the Mavericks with a double-double as he recorded 14 points and 18 rebounds. His offensive rebounding led to most of his 14 points, as he grabbed seven offensive boards. Preston Whitaker led MSU in scoring with 17 points.

4th-ranked South Dakota will hit the road for a three-game road trip starting on Saturday, February 9. They will travel south to take on Nebraska-Omaha at 4:00 p.m.