KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Cameron Fens notched his first career double-double, Dre Bullock scored a season-high 20 points and Paul Bruns scored 18 second half points as South Dakota basketball earned its first road win of the season 80-76 over Western Michigan Wednesday.
Bullock scored 12 of his 20 in the first half, taking advantage of his trips to the charity stripe (5-for-6) and came away with a pair of steals. Fens was on pace for a double-double in the opening 20 minutes, as he scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting with five boards. Paul Bruns scored all 18 of his points in the second half, going 6-for-9 from the field with three 3-pointers.
It was a defensive slugfest in the opening 20 minutes with the Broncos holding a one-point lead, 34-33 at the halftime intermission. The Coyotes shot 12-for-36 (.333%) from the field and 1-of-16 deep, while Western Michigan was 14-for-36 (.389) and 0-of-10 from beyond the arc in the opening frame.
It took nearly 10 minutes before either team hit double-digit point totals with WMU taking a 10-9 lead at the 11-minute mark. Max Burchill gave the Yotes the lead on the following possession with a pull-up jumper, and the lead would change hands 12 times in the first half with neither team holding a lead larger than six.
Fens got the second half action started with a putback slam giving the Yotes their first lead of the second half, 35-34. After a WMU bucket on the ensuing possession that put the Broncos back out front, Paul Bruns knocked down his first of three treys in the second half and the lead would change hands for the 15th and final time of the contest. Ashton Smith scored four straight to cap off a 9-0 USD run that put USD up eight, 44-36, four minutes into the half. Western Michigan pulled back within three points of the Yotes with 5:47 remaining, but Paul Bruns continued his stellar second half by scoring nine straight including back-to-back 3-pointers to give USD an 11-point lead, 70-59, with just under four minutes left. Western Michigan would whittle the Coyotes lead down to five with under a minute to go, but the Yotes would hold off the Broncos charge, earning an 80-76 road win.
South Dakota continues its road trip Friday when they take on Southern Indiana in Evansville, Indiana at 7:00 p.m. CT.
Notes
- South Dakota improves to 5-1 on the season and 1-1 on the road
- Cameron Fens notched his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds while shooting an efficient 7-of-9 from the field
- Fens was active on the offensive glass with six offensive boards
- As a team, USD had 17 offensive rebounds and 16 points off those second chance opportunities
- The Coyotes defensive pressure forced the Broncos into 16 turnovers, and the Yotes took advantage with 25 points off WMU miscues
- Dre Bullock led the Coyotes in scoring for the first time with his season high of 20 points
- Paul Bruns scored all of his 18 points in the second half and knocked down three 3-pointers for the second time this season
- Kaleb Stewart and Max Burchill dished out four assists each, while Chase Forte had three helpers, two steals and two blocks
- The Coyotes have now had a different leading scorer in all six games so far this season