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You could feel the electrifying excitement this past weekend all through eastern South Dakota coming from both Brookings and Vermillion when the Coyotes faced the Jackrabbits. A double dose of college basketball between SDSU and USD saw the Jacks raising the brooms.

South Dakota State made tough plays down the stretch to close out a 70-67 victory over South Dakota in front a season-high crowd of 3,718 fans on Sunday.

The largest lead by either team came in the first half as South Dakota held an 8-5 lead less than two minutes into the contest. A William Kyle III hook shot kick-started a 10-0 scoring run for SDSU as the Jacks jumped out to a 15-8 advantage with 13:14 remaining in the first half.

South Dakota State led for a majority of the first half before a 7-0 run propelled USD again on top. Paul Bruns hit a 3-pointer at the 3:59 mark to give the Coyotes a 33-32 edge. The two sides traded baskets over the final minutes of the opening half before the halftime buzzer sounded with South Dakota ahead 38-37.

The Jackrabbits scored the second half's first five points and led for most of the remaining 20 minutes. SDSU got up again by seven, 51-44, but the Yotes clawed their way back and took a 54-53 lead with 7:47 to play. The Jacks began to lean into working in the paint from there.

The victory served as the 100th of Eric Henderson's career as head coach at South Dakota State. SDSU also improved to 13-11 overall and 6-3 in Summit League action, putting the Jackrabbits into a tie for first in the conference standings. South Dakota dropped to 9-15 and 2-7 in league play.

The Jackrabbits return to Frost Arena for the third game of a three-game homestand. SDSU is slated to host Oral Roberts in Brookings at 3:00 PM on Saturday, February 10.

Lady Jackrabbits

Turning back to Saturday South Dakota State overcame a tough first quarter to power past USD 70-55. The Jackrabbits improve to 17-5 on the season and 9-0 in conference games. SDSU has won 11 straight games this season.

Brooklyn Meyer led all players with 22 points, her fourth game this year with at least 20. She went 10-for-15 from the floor and tallied nine rebounds and two blocks, also team highs.

Natalie Mazurek scored 17 points for South Dakota, one shy of her career high. Grace Larkins tallied 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists. As a team, USD shot 35 percent.

SDSU women will travel to Oral Roberts next Saturday.