Myles has 23, but USD loses heartbreaker to Oakland

VERMILLION, S.D.—Oakland guard Duke Mondy’s free throw with 4.3 seconds left was the difference in a 76-75 win against South Dakota Thursday at the DakotaDome. It was the sixth win in a row for the Grizzlies (14-13, 9-4), who avenged a 19-point loss at home to USD in mid-January.

South Dakota (8-17, 4-9) got 23 points from Juevol Myles and 22 from Brandon Bos. Following Mondy’s free throw and an Oakland timeout, Myles took the inbounds pass, drove the length of the court and let fly a runner from the free-throw line that fell short.

Oakland center Corey Petros had 17 points and 13 rebounds and teammate Drew Valentine had 14 points and 10 boards. The Grizzlies enjoyed a 39-27 edge on the glass and surrendered one offensive rebound.

Grizzly guard Travis Bader, the nation’s fifth-leading scorer, had 16 points on 5 of 13 shooting. Bader sat the final 12 minutes of the first half with six points and three fouls. South Dakota took advantage, got 25 combined points from Myles and Bos and led 42-34 at the break.

Oakland began the second half on a 13-3 run and led 47-45 with six minutes gone. A Bader trey gave the Grizzlies their largest lead of the game, 68-62, with 4:39 remaining. Bos hit a 3, Myles hit a 3, and a fast-break layup by Trevor Gruis knotted the score at 70-70 with three minutes to go.

Myles tied the game at 73-73 with a cold-blooded 3 with 1:56 left and again at 75-75 with two free throws with 22 seconds left. Mondy drew a foul while backing into the lane on the final possession, missed the first free throw and bounced in the second for the winner. He had 16 points, six assists and three steals.

Myles and Bos combined to make 14 of 25 shots, seven of USD’s eight three-pointers and 10 of the Coyotes’ 11 free throws. Oakland made 9 of 24 three’s and 7 of 13 free throws. Both teams shot near 50 percent from the field.