OMAHA, Neb. – Sam'i Roe hit a jumper with 11:30 left in the second half to cut South Dakota's lead to single-digits after trailing by 27 points in the first half. It would be the closest Omaha would get down the stretch as the Coyotes went on to win 91-69 Thursday night.
 
The Mavericks fall to 4-21 overall and 3-11 in Summit League action.
 
Leaders for Omaha
Fidler scored a game-high 22 points on 7-of-15 from the field. He hit a three-pointer and went 7-of-8 from the foul line. Felix Lemetti also finished in double-figures with 18 points. He was 4-of-9 from the field with three from deep.
 
Lemetti led the team with six boards, two assists, and two steals. Darrius Hughes matched the team-high with six rebounds.
 
Leaders for South Dakota
Four Coyotes notched double-digit scoring efforts. They were led by Tasos Kamateros who finished with 20 points on 9-of-13 from the field. Kruz Perrott-Hunt and Erik Oliver added 17 points each, while Boogie Anderson and Mason Archambault scored 12 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Kamateros tallied a game-high eight rebounds, while Kamateros recorded six assists.
 
Team Stats
The Mavericks shot 42.3 percent from the field, while the Coyotes shot 58.1 percent. Omaha hit four from beyond the arc to South Dakota's nine.
 
In the paint, USD held a 48-22 advantage. They also led in second chance points, 18-9. The Mavericks held a 9-2 edge on the fast break.
 
Inside the First Half
Archambault and Smith traded baskets out of the jump ball Thursday night, but Perrott-Hunt's three-pointer on the next possession claimed a South Dakota lead for the remainder of the game. The Coyotes jumped out to a 9-4 lead early that was slowly chipped away by Fidler who scored the next four points to get the Mavericks within one.
 
USD used a 13-2 run over the next three minutes to build a double-figure lead over Omaha. Nick Ferrarini completed a three-point play to cut it back to single-digits with 10:42 left to play. The Coyotes responded outscoring the Mavericks 14-3 for roughly the next five minutes. Nikola Zizic's jumper at the 5:50 mark made it a 20-point lead. Oliver then hit a three with 2:50 left in the half for USD's largest lead of the night at 27-points. Lemetti scored seven of Omaha's nine points to close the half including a buzzer beater from beyond half court to cap the first. The Coyotes led, 49-29.
 
Inside the Second Half
Fidler opened the second with a three-pointer providing a much needed spark to the Maverick offense. Marco Smith and Fidler then scored on back-to-back Omaha possessions cutting the lead to 15 just two minutes into play. A pair of free throws from Archambault at the 15:51 mark brought the USD lead back up to 20, but Lemetti went on a solo 11-2 run that included two three-pointers to get Omaha within 11 points with 13:01 on the clock.
 
At the 11:51 mark, Fidler sunk two from the foul line that Roe followed up with a made pull-up jumper. Roe's make cut the lead to nine which got the Mavericks the closest they'd get for the remainder of the half. Oliver hit two straight threes for the Coyotes to swing the momentum back in their favor with just under nine minutes left to play. They went on to win, 91-69.
 
Noting Tonight's Game
-Thursday marked Fidler's second straight game with at least 20 points scored. He finished with 22 tonight following his career-high 37 at North Dakota in the last game. Fidler put up 25 on Jan. 29 vs. Kansas City.
-Lemetti hit three from deep. It marked the third straight game he tallied at least two makes from three-point range. He has connected from the arc at least once in every game this season.
 
Up Next
The Mavericks hit the road for a single-game trip to South Dakota State Saturday. Omaha will play the Jackrabbits at 4:15 p.m. following the women's match-up.
 
Gary Sharp will have the call on 1180 KZOT. Links to the stream, audio, and live stats can be found on OMavs.com.