South Dakota fends off Montana 72-67 behind Mooney, Flack

VERMILLION, S.D. (AP) Matt Mooney and Tyler Flack scored 18 points apiece and South Dakota held off a late Montana rally to beat the Grizzlies 72-67 on Sunday.

Mooney's free throw put the Coyotes up 62-54 with 6 minutes left before Montana went on 13-6 run and closed to 68-67 on a pair of Walter Wright free throws with 2:13 remaining.

Trey Burch-Manning and Mooney both added a free throw for South Dakota (6-2) to push the lead to three with 33 seconds to go. Brandon Gfeller missed a 3-point attempt and Mooney added two free throws for the final margin. Mooney finished 8 for 10 from the free throw line.

South Dakota led 36-28 at halftime. Montana committed 26 personal fouls.

Jared Samuelson led Montana with 12 points, making all five shots from the field and a pair of free throws. Montana (1-6) finished a nearly two-week road trip after playing in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Oxford, Mississippi.