VERMILLION, S.D. — Isaac Bruns scored a career high 23 points as the South Dakota basketball team earned its fourth win in 11 days in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center 92-69 over Dakota Wesleyan Thursday night.
It was also Isaac Bruns’ first game of his Coyote career eclipsing 20 points, as he connected on 10-of-14 field goal attempts and 3-of-5 from deep to go with four rebounds and a pair of steals. Bruns was well on his way to passing his previous career high of 17 points in the first half, as he scored 15 on 7-of-10 shooting in the opening frame.
Kaleb Stewart reached double-figure scoring for the second straight game with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting with three treys. Chase Forte added 11 points, six assists and two boards.
The Coyotes shot 20-for-33 (.606%) from the field in the first half to take a 49-29 lead at the break. Dakota Wesleyan battled the Yotes early in the contest, but South Dakota began to pull away over the final eight minutes of the half. A steal and score from Mayuom Buom started an 11-0 USD run to go up 33-24 capped by a pair of Ashton Smith free throws. The Coyotes scored the final eight points of the half after back-to-back buckets from Isaac Bruns, an o-board and bucket from Buom and two free throws from Max Burchill.
Every Coyote scored in the opening 20 minutes, and following Bruns’ production was Buom with six points, Stewart with six and Forte with five. USD’s defensive pressure turned the Tigers over 10 times, which turned into 17 USD points.
An early 3-pointer from Paul Bruns a minute into the second half gave South Dakota it’s largest lead of the night, 54-29. DWU briefly brought the Coyote lead back down to single-digits, but Forte would score the game’s next four points and USD would lead by double-figures the rest of the way. Isaac Bruns capped off his career night with a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left, as USD earned a 92-69 victory.
The second half saw a more balanced USD attack with five players scoring five or more points, led by Isaac Bruns’ eight points.
South Dakota will return to action next week when they travel to face Western Michigan on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Notes
- South Dakota improves to 4-1 on the season and 4-0 in the SCSC
- Isaac Bruns scored a career-high 23 points, his first time scoring 20+ points as a Coyote
- Isaac Bruns recorded his fifth straight game scoring 10+ points
- USD held the advantage in paint points (44-24), points off turnovers (30-15) and bench points (50-22)
- Kaleb Stewart scored in double-digits for the second straight game with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and knocked down three or treys for the second straight game
- Chase Forte led the Yotes with six assists, his third game with four or more helpers
- Paul Bruns led the Coyotes in rebounds for the third time this year
- USD knocked down double-digit treys for the second game in a row and third time this season