Dave Eggen/Inertia

Men's Basketball

Monster first half leads top-seeded Omaha to rout over No. 5 seed South Dakota

The Basics
Score: No. 1 Omaha 100, No. 5 South Dakota 75 
Records: Omaha (21-12, 13-3 SL), South Dakota (19-14, 9-7 SL)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D.



SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Top-seeded Omaha capitalized on a season-best shooting effort to coast to a 100-75 victory over No. 5 seed South Dakota and earn a spot in the 2025 Summit League Men's Basketball Championship title game. The Mavericks shot 59 percent from the field and never trailed, earning the right to play for their first championship since the 2019 postseason event.

Tony Osburn, who missed all six of his field goals and only made a free throw in Thursday's quarterfinal win over KC, had 13 points at the midway point of the first half and finished with a season-high 30 points as the Mavericks raced out to a 28-11 advantage on the Coyotes.

After making eight of their first nine field goals, Osburn and company would not let up, using an 18-2 spurt to create a 46-13 advantage with 4:08 to play. South Dakota's Chase Forte drilled a triple for the Coyotes to snap an 0-for-9 stretch from the field but that did little to slow down Omaha's momentum.

The Mavericks ended up going 21-for-32 from the field in the first half as their lead ballooned to 55-26 at the break. They turned seven South Dakota turnovers into 13 points, while only committing two misuces themselves. Forte finished with half of USD's 26 points as he went 4-for-8 from the field, while the rest of his teammates combined to go 3-for-19.

Summit League Player of the Year Marquel Sutton had back-to-back dunks early on in the second half to keep Omaha's energy going, while USD's cold shooting continued. The Coyotes missed their first eight attempts before Paul Bruns made a layup at the 16:32 mark.

South Dakota shot much better after that and finished with 45-second half points but Omaha never cooled down enough to let the Coyotes get back in this one.

Osburn tied the Summit League Tournament single-game record with eight makes from beyond the arc on only nine attempts. He finished with a season-high 30 points, just two shy of his career-high set last season as a sophomore.

Sutton finished an efficient semifinal as well, going 8-for-12 from the field to score 19 points and add a game-high eight rebounds.  

Forte led the Coyotes with 24 points and Kaleb Stewart came off the USD bench to tack on 13 points. 

The Mavericks will play the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2 seed St. Thomas and No. 6 seed North Dakota in Sunday's title game, scheduled for a 8 p.m. CT tip on CBS Sports Network.
 
Turning Point
The Mavericks made eight of their first nine field goals, including five in a row to get things started as they built a 19-7 lead and never trailed.

Inside the Box Score
  • The Mavericks had 13 points off seven USD turnovers, while turning it over only twice against USD's pressing style of play. The Coyotes did not yield any points off those limited turnovers forced in the opening half. 
  • Omaha's 55 first-half points were the fifth most in a Summit League Tournament game - the record is 59 held by Oakland in a 110-90 win over South Dakota State in 2011.
  • Osburn finished with 30 points and tied the Summit League Tournament record for 3-pointers made with eight, equaling two others, including North Dakota's Treysen Eaglestaff, who had eight during his 51-point performance in the quarterfinals.
  • Osburn's 89 percent (8-for-9) clip from deep is the second best with five or more makes (Tyson Ward, NDSU; 5-for-5 vs. North Dakota in 2020 title game). 
  • White finished with 14 points and eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his Omaha career.
  • Forte had a team-high 24 points to finish with his sixth straight 20-plus point game and 15th of his lone season with the Coyotes.
News & Notes
  • Omaha will be making its first Summit League Tournament title-game appearance since 2019 and third overall. The Mavericks have yet to capture a title, falling to South Dakota State in 2017 and North Dakota State in 2019.
  • The Jackrabbits (7), Bison (5) and Oral Roberts (2) have combined to win the last 14 titles but that run will end this season with neither of those three teams advancing past the quarterfinals in the same season for the first time since 2008-09 when NDSU and SDSU joined the league. 
  • Omaha's 100 points were their most points in a Summit League Tournament game in program history, eclipsing the 90 points the Mavericks scored in a 90-62 semifinal win over IUPUI in 2017.
  • South Dakota made the semifinals for the first time since 2022 and seventh time overall in 13 appearances. 
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