South Dakota State edges Denver in Summit tourney 54-53

Mar 8, 2016, 12:10 am

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Mike Daum scored 15 points and second-seeded South Dakota State edged No. 6 seed Denver 54-53 in a Summit League semifinal game on Thursday night.

The Jackrabbits (25-7) face fifth-seeded North Dakota State, which eliminated IPFW, on Tuesday in the final.

The Jackrabbits led 30-22 at intermission, but SDSU went 7:21 spanning halftime without scoring and Denver used an 18-point run to lead 45-32 with 11:24 left.

SDSU went on a 16-4 run, cutting the deficit to one on Daum's layup with 1:07 left, then he made 1 of 2 free throws to tie with 28 seconds left. After a steal, Denver fouled again and Jake Bittle hit 1 of 2 to give SDSU the lead.

On the inbound play, Denver freshman Joe Rosga was fouled in the backcourt with 1.2 seconds left. After a lengthy review to determine the time, the 89 percent free throw shooter missed the front end of the 1-and-1.

Denver (16-15) was led by Jake Pemberton with 16 points and nine rebounds.