Coyote men move to 2-0 with strong second-half scoring

Nov. 6—VERMILLION — The University of South Dakota men’s basketball team scored 59 points in the second half on Wednesday night to power a 91-83 win over Texas A&M-Commerce and improve to 2-0 on the young season at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.

The game was tied at 32 at halftime but USD had a 15-4 run to start the second half to build a cushion it would not give up, leading by as many as 19 points with 6:33 left. Even then, Texas A&M Commerce pulled to within 82-77 with 1:35 left, before USD’s Chase Forte scored six straight Coyote points to seal up the win late. USD shot 57.6% in the second half from the field and converted 19-of-25 free-throw tries in the final 20 minutes as well.

Forte, the 6-foot-4 senior guard transfer from Northwestern State who scored a season-high 25 points against the same Commerce squad last season for the Demons, posted a game-high 23 points on Wednesday, powered by 13-of-16 free throw shooting.

Forte was one of six double-figure scorers for USD, with 14 points from Cameron Fens, 13 off the bench for Isaac Bruns and 11 for Dre Bullock, while Paul Bruns and Kaleb Stewart each had 10 points.

The Lions (0-2) had five scorers post 10 or more points, led by Khaliq Abdul-Mateen with 18 points and 15 points from Scooter Williams Jr.

Wednesday’s game was part of the Kenny Arnold Classic round-robin games, honoring the late University of Iowa basketball player. The matchups include games between Iowa, Southern, USD and Texas A&M Commerce.

Next up, USD (2-0) will play NAIA Mount Marty at 2 p.m. Sunday in Vermillion, followed by the Coyotes’ final game of the Kenny Arnold Classic at Iowa on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/coyote-men-move-2-0-045900713.html

Author : The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.

Publish date : 2024-11-07 04:59:00

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