SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — South Dakota’s season came to a close Friday night with a 76-62 loss to Omaha in the Summit League Tournament Quarterfinals. The Coyotes battled adversity all season long, and Friday was no different, as the Yotes were without starting point guard Uzziah Buntyn for the fir st time all season. Without their floor general, the Coyote offense finished the game 20-of-64 from the field and 9-of-28 from deep. Vince Buzelis paced the Yotes with 16 points and notched a double-double with 12 rebounds (five offensive), while Jesse McIntosh had 14 points off the bench. Cameron Fens pulled down 12 rebounds, his 14th game of the season with 10+ boards and added eight points. Jordan Crawford added 13 points and eight boards, while Silas Bennion had 11 points. Bennion had all 11 of his points in the first half with a trio of 3-pointers, but behind a 48.3 shooting percentage, the Mavs led 34-31 lead at halftime. Lance Waddles countered for Omaha with 13 points and three 3-pointers of his own. Outside of Bennion’s 4-of-5 shooting, the Coyotes were 5-of-25 from the field in the opening 20 minutes but would tie the game at 31-31 with 1:30 left in the half off a 7-0 started by five straight from Bennion. The Yotes battled early in the second half and grabbed a 44-43 lead off a deep 3-pointer from Crawford. Omaha began to pull away from a depleted Coyote squad, extending its lead to double-digits for the first time, 64-54, with just under four minutes remaining. South Dakota cut it to single-digits twice but would ultimately fall 76-62 in the quarterfinals. South Dakota ends the season with a 16-16 overall record, 12-5 record at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center and an 8-8 Summit League record. Story Provided by GoYotes.com ...read more read less