Edged in OT: Mines’ Doerr hits shot in post as time expires to beat Hawks

• Pierce Brooks

Press Photo by Dustin Monke Dickinson State senior Pierce Brooks, right, loses his dribble while South Dakota Mines sophomore Caleb Shockman defends during a men’s basketball game on Saturday night at Scott Gymnasium.

Talk about it

Game-winning shots typically aren’t made on an old-fashioned post-up play.

It happened Saturday night though.

South Dakota Mines senior Kyle Doerr banked in a shot over Dickinson State senior Casper Hesseldal from the lower right block as time expired in overtime to give the Hardrockers a 75-73 victory at Scott Gymnasium.

“It was one of those shots,” Doerr said. “I missed eight wide-open layups. I’m just glad the one went in. He played perfect defense on it. It was one of those shots. I assumed when I let it go, it was in.”

Doerr’s game-winner capped a classic clash between the former Dakota Athletic Conference rivals.

It was a game full of runs, comebacks, lead swaps and clutch baskets — including a last-second 3-pointer by DSU senior Tevin Hurd that tied it at 66 at the end of regulation.

“It’s one of those games you really look forward to,” said Hurd, who scored all 19 of his points in the second half and overtime. “It was a dogfight, overtime, Hollywood game. We just ended up on the wrong side of it.”

The final seconds of regulation were wild.

The Hardrockers (9-7) went ahead 64-61 with 12.6 seconds left when senior Tanner Friesen was fouled in the process of sinking a 3-pointer from the left wing. He converted the four-point play on the free throw.

DSU (8-12) wasn’t done though. Hurd found John Hanstad for an open back-door layup with 7 seconds left, cutting Mines’ lead to one.

Friesen, who led the Hardrockers with 20 points, was fouled on the in-bounds pass and made both ensuing free throws to give Mines a 66-63 lead.

Hurd came down, pump faked at the top of the key and his 3-point jumper went swish after the buzzer expired.

“From there, I thought we kind of had it,” Hurd said. “I thought we had the momentum.”

Hurd opened overtime with a driving slam dunk and Hesseldal’s shot in the post gave DSU a 70-66 lead in just 45 seconds. But, the Blue Hawks didn’t score again until Hesseldal tipped in his own miss with 1:31 left. Hesseldal finished with a game-high 21 points, five rebounds and four assists.

A coast-to-coast layup by Mines senior Nathan Jacobson tied it at 73 with 38 seconds left.

While trying to hold possession for the final shot as long as it could, DSU senior Jeff Hurd slipped on the floor and was called for traveling, giving the ball back to Mines and setting up Doerr’s game-winning basket.

Doerr and Jacobson each scored 14 points.

“It was a fun basketball game,” Mines head coach Jason Henry said. “As coaches, you’ve got to be proud of both teams.”

DSU looked like it was going to roll early, building a 19-10 advantage following Hesseldal’s reverse slam dunk on a fast break.

Henry responded by calling a time out with 5:04 remaining in the first half.

It proved to be a savvy decision as the Hardrockers ended the first half on a 16-0 run to lead 26-19 at halftime.

“It might have opened the game up for them, but it really opened it up for us too because it was a competitive nature and we continued to attack,” DSU head coach Ty Orton said.

DSU scored nine unanswered points early in the second half to tie it at 28 and the race was on from there.

The Blue Hawks led 53-44 with 6:52 remaining but Mines chipped away, never reclaiming the lead until Friesen’s four-point play.

Mines is 4-1 against former DAC teams this season, including a 75-58 win against DSU on Dec. 3 in Rapid City, S.D. It is in the process of transitioning to NCAA Division II.

John Hanstad scored 14 points and Matt Lee added 12 for the Blue Hawks, who had their struggles at the free-throw line. They were 19 of 32 from the stripe.

DSU is off until next Saturday when it travels to Valley City to play Jamestown College in the DAC Tipoff Tournament. The Blue Hawks play either Valley City State or Mayville State on Sunday.

Winning both games would be big in terms of DSU’s standing in the Association of Independent Institutions standings as it currently sits on the AII postseason bubble.

“We have to handle our own business,” Orton said. “We’ve just got to prepare for Jamestown and make sure we get our feet back under us and go from there.”

SOUTH DAKOTA MINES (9-7): Nathan Jacobson 5-6 2-3 14, Tanner Friesen 5-8 8-9 20, Michael Dietz 1-3 0-0 2, Kyle Doerr 3-8 8-10 14, Lance Kilburn 3-6 1-2 7, Caleb Shockman 3-4 2-2 8, Calvin Thomas 2-2 0-0 5, Tommy Smith 2-4 0-0 5, Lucas Nolan 0-5 0-0 0, Lee Hosey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 24-46 21-26 75.

DICKINSON STATE (8-12): Casper Hesseldal 8-13 5-8 21, Tevin Hurd 5-10 7-8 19, Matthew Lee 6-10 0-4 12, Jarek Hansen 0-0 0-0 0, John Hanstad 5-11 2-5 14, Jeff Hurd 1-2 3-3 5, Pierce Brooks 0-0 2-4 2, Robbie Morey 0-2 0-0 0, Ryan Kittleson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 25-50 19-32 73.

Halftime: SDM 26-19. Total fouls: SDM 26, DSU 24. Fouled out: Shockman, T. Hurd, Brooks. 3-point goals: SDM 6-15 (Jacobson 2-3, Friesen 2-4, Smith 1-3, Thomas 1-1, Dietz 0-1, Doerr 0-1, Nolan 0-2), DSU 4-13 (T. Hurd 2-5, Hanstad 2-5, J. Hurd 0-1, Morey 0-2). Rebounds: SDM 28 (Friesen 6, Doerr 6), DSU 26 (Lee 6). Assists: SDM 13 (Jacobson 5, Doerr 5), DSU 12 (Hesseldal 4). Steals: SDM 2 (Doerr 1, Nolan 1), DSU 5 (Lee 2). Blocks: SDM 0, DSU 0. Turnovers: SDSM 17 (Jacobson 4), DSU 13 (J. Hurd 4, Morey 4).

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