How crazy was St. Thomas’ 83-80 win over South Dakota on Saturday night at Schoenecker Arena?

The Tommies allowed the Coyotes to shoot 78.6 percent from 3-point range in the first half on 11 of 14 shooting, only to see defense be the catalyst in their comeback win, their first over the Coyotes in six tries.

The Coyotes had seven players connect from long range as they took a 10-point lead into the locker room at halftime. South Dakota attempted only four threes in the second half and missed them all.

All of which suggests that it was an interesting Tommies locker room at halftime.

“I wouldn’t say I was yelling and screaming,” Tommies head coach Johnny Tauer said, “but it was certainly a challenge. There’s a difference between daring a guy to shoot and being there on the catch and playing more aggressive defense.

“I thought we were late on a lot of our closeouts. But I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a team start a game 11 for 13 on threes.”

Tauer has a lot of faith in his experienced roster, and it came through in a big way on Saturday.

“One of the things we talk a lot about is trust and composure,” Tauer said. “There were adjustments we had to make, and I think our guys just said, OK, trust these adjustments, be a little tougher on the ball.

“Know who their shooters are. But don’t feel like you have to be in a rush. Just be who we are. Our defensive intensity was much better, but I also thought on offense we played patiently.”

The victory keeps the Tommies (17-10, 7-5 Summit League) in the hunt for the regular season conference title. North Dakota won on Saturday to stay one game ahead of the Tommies in the loss column. The Fighting Hawks (9-4) have played one more game.

The Tommies had four players score in double figures, with Raheem Anthony leading the way with 20 points. Drake Dobbs had 18, Parker Bjorklund 17 and Brooks Allen 12.

The teams traded baskets in the early going, with the Tommies taking a 15-13 lead before the game changed dramatically. The Coyotes went on a 16-4 run to take a 29-19 lead. Twelve of their points made during that stretch came on three-point baskets.

South Dakota led 36-22 with six minutes to play in the half. The Tommies then went on a mini run of their own, with Bjorklund scoring five straight points to cut the Coyotes’ lead to 36-27.

The Coyotes’ lead was back up to 14 at 44-30 before three-point baskets by Drake Dobbs and Raheem Anthony helped the Tommies trim their deficit to 10 at halftime, 48-38.

It took the Tommies less than five minutes to tie the game, with Anthony and Bjorklund providing all the points. Anthony scored three baskets on strong drives to the rim, the third one also drawing a foul.

He missed the free throw that would have tied the game, but Bjorklund grabbed the rebound and made the put-back to make it a 52-52 game.

The Tommies opened up a five-point lead with four minutes to play, but the game was tied at 75-75 with two minutes remaining.

Anthony made a pair of free throws to put the Tommies back in front, but the Coyotes responded. A basket by Bjorklund put the Tommies ahead to stay with a minute to play.

“To me it was one of the better games we’ve had,” Tauer said. “Because of how many different things our guys had to play through throughout the course of the game.”

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