USD men vs. Chadron State

Fresh off Tuesday’s loss at No. 7 Notre Dame, the USD men’s basketball team (3-5) returns home to face D-II Chadron State (3-1) inside the DakotaDome.

Pretty decent crowd for a Saturday afternoon.

Quick note: USD senior Dylan Grimsley needs 3 points to pass 1,000 for his career. A pretty impressive feat, considering Grimsley is in just his third season with the Coyotes.

I’ll have periodic updates during the game. You can listen to the game on 102.7 FM.

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At the first media timeout (under 16), the game is tied at 8. Steve Smith has five points for USD, while Tyler Cain has three. Chadron’s Tim McLaurin, who dropped 32 points on USD last year, has two so far, while the Eagles have also hit a pair of threes.

U.Dance is on the court right now. That is all.

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At the under 12 stoppage, USD leads 15-12. Coyote senior Jesse Becker gave USD a 11-8 with a long three, followed later by baskets by Grimsley and Cain. For Chadron, McLaurin now has 6.

Division II football update: Minnesota-Duluth is headed to the national title game after routing California (Pa.) 45-7. A somewhat surprising margin of victory, especially considering this was a playoff game. But big ups (again) for the Bulldogs, a former USD conference foe.

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At the under 8 stoppage, USD is up 23-18. With 11 points already, Cain is on his way to a big game. He just followed a Louie Krogman missed three-pointer with a nice putback on the bounce.

Just noticed something: Chadron has just one player from Nebraska. Eight from California, and even one from Brazil.

Just noticed something else: Former Coyote Eric Hall is sitting courtside across the way, chatting with Mr. and Mrs. Abbott. Wonder what Eric’s up to these days.

Krogman is at the free throw line.

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At the final media timeout (under 4) of the half, Coyotes lead 27-23. Cain now has 13 points, while the next leading scorer is Becker and Smith, both with 5.

Chadron State freshman Christian McGhee (a Pine Ridge, S.D. native) is in the game and has been manned up with Krogman. I wonder if those two every played each other in high school. Man, I’m doing a lot of wondering today. What’s with that?

Perhaps I’ll try to answer some of my own questions after the game.

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Krogman hit a straight-on three at the buzzer and USD leads 38-31 at halftime.

The Eagles pulled to within 31-29, but a 7-2 Coyote run to close the half made up the difference.

Cain is listed as having 11 points, but I’m pretty sure he has 13. Smith has 9, while Krogman and Becker each have seven. Coyotes shot 43 percent (13-of-30) from the field, 2-of-8 from three and 10-of-13 at the line.

The Eagles shot 37 percent (11-of-30) but have committed 12 turnovers. Chadron State has also played 10 players, including mostly freshmen off the bench.

Let’s see, what else? The P&D annual Christmas party is tonight, so I’m hoping to have a photo or two up on the blog within the next few days.

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At the under 16 mark of the second, USD leads 46-35. The Eagles cut the lead to seven, but back-to-back buckets by Grimsley has the Coyotes up 11.

The first of the two makes by Grimsley gave him over 1,000 points in his career, and he got a nice ovation from the crowd when it was announced.

Chadron State coach Brent Bargan is one vocal dude. He’s been up the entire game, not exactly screaming, but talking in a loud manner. I enjoy coaches like that, ones that really get into the games and are constantly giving instruction.

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With the Coyotes up 60-40 at the 12:35 mark, Chadron State calls a timeout. Smart move.

What was once a 42-35 game five minutes ago has quickly ballooned, as USD is riding an 18-5 run. Grimsley and Krogman hit back-to-back jumpers, while senior Mitch Begeman just spotted up for a long 3.

Chadron State’s Julian Pettway has an interesting set of tattoos, including one along his neck and lower chin. Again I’m wondering, but man, how much did that hurt?

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This thing has really gotten out of hand.

Coyotes lead 72-45 with 7:50 left in the game. Krogman has gotten it going, with 16 points, while Cain has 19 and Grimsley has 10. Chadron State has made two shots from the field in the last four minutes.

USD is also having their way down in the paint, with Cain, Smith and senior Rane Mergen rebounding at will.

Bargen isn’t standing anymore.

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So yeah, this thing is now officially a rout.

Coyotes are up 86-56 after Begeman just hit a three from the corner. Becker just checked out after scoring 11 points, including five free throws within the last two minutes.

This is one of those games where your shots go in and your defense is at its best. And for the Coyotes, they really needed this. I mean, really needed this.

Begeman just hit another 3.

I’ll have more after the game.

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FINAL: USD 93, Chadron State 61

Coyotes (4-5) have six guys, count ‘em, six guys in double figures.

Good win for USD, which now plays five straight games at home.

That’s all from Vermillion. It’s almost party time.

‘Tis The Season For Year-End Awards

It’s 19 days before Christmas. The snow is starting fly. Shoppers are bustling about. The air is full of OTY’s.

OTY’s?

That’s short for “Of The Year,” as in all the year-end awards that groups and organizations hand out. They are a nice pat on the back for those who receive them, a source of debate for those who follow them.

Here at the Press & Dakotan, we are no different. I am currently in charge of two different sets of awards that will be handed out around Dec. 25.

The first, and longer running of the two, are the year-end awards selected by the South Dakota Sportswriters Association.

Since 1954, the SDSWA has handed out honors for the top independent team, college men’s coach and team, and high school boys’ coach and team. Individual honors were first presented in 1958. The group honored its first celebrity, Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills, in 1964. Other awards were added as female sports became recognized in the state.

Since 1981, the group has honored an athlete, coach and team for both boys and girls in high school, as well as men and women in college. We also recognize an independent team — one not affiliated with a high school or college — as well as independent male and female athletes and a celebrity. A college athlete, for our sake, is defined as someone competing at the college level in the state of South Dakota. (S.D. natives competing outside the state can be selected as “independent” athletes.) Our “celebrity” can either be a S.D. native or someone who competed collegiately in S.D. who is at a high professional, or in some cases Olympic, level.

My staff and I are also in the process of selecting our prep male and female athletes of the year. The criteria are pretty simple, someone who competed for a school in our coverage area during 2008, and has succeeded at a high level. In the past, we have given extra merit to athletes who compete in a number of disciplines.

Now that you know the rules, I’d love to here who you think are the most deserving athletes, coaches and teams in the state. E-mail us at sports@yankton.net or post a comment online to make your voice heard.

Preseason Teaser

As you can probably tell by the look of our sports pages this past week, the winter sports schedule is very close to being off and running.

Many of our area wrestling and gymnastics teams have gotten their start, as have basketball teams south of the border (i.e., in Nebraska). South Dakota basketball squad pick it up next week, with the girls tipping off on Tuesday and the boys lacing it up on Friday.

This year, our cover story will not be about an individual or a team, but the beginning of an era — the shot clock era in South Dakota. In case you haven’t heard, Class AA basketball will now be played under the constraints of a 35-second shot clock, a change people who watched Yankton play the Mitchell boys or Aberdeen Central girls in recent years would say is a long time overdue. There are people on both sides of that fence, and you’ll hear from a few of them. Also, we’d love to hear what you think of the change.

One change you will see in this year’s preview is a new feature at the top of each of the area sections: “Games to Watch” and “Players to Watch.” The names are pretty self-explanatory: We will be giving you what we feel are the three or four games that look like must-see events, as well as the players we feel will have the biggest impact this season.

We would love your input on this as well. Who do you think are going to be the players and teams to watch this year, and why?

I’ve already said this once, but I will repeat myself: E-mail us at sports@yankton.net or post a comment online to make your voice heard.

Listen to James D. Cimburek, along with KYNT’s Brady Donovan, on 1450 AM KYNT’s “Breakfast With The Coaches,” live from Yesterday’s Cafe, beginning at 9 a.m. today.