Tecker enjoys career game

The University of South Dakota men’s basketball team fell to Ball State 62-51 Saturday, despite a career-high scoring performance by junior guard Steve Tecker.

Tecker, a 2010 graduate of Northwestern High School, came off the bench to lead South Dakota in scoring with 15 points, tying his career high. He shot 54 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range and also pulled down seven rebounds for the Coyotes.

Tecker had been playing limited minutes in recent weeks due to hip pain. He had surgery in his senior year of high school to correct hip impingement in both hips, but the condition has persisted.

“Steve’s hips have been bothering him, but he battles through it and plays with some pain, but this was his best outing,” said South Dakota head coach Dave Boots. “He’s been in our program for three years so he knows what’s going on. He played exceptionally well today.”

Tecker played 25 minutes in Saturday’s game after averaging just over 11 minutes in the previous three games.

For the season, he is averaging 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

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