VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota guards
Trey Norris and
Tre Burnette scored 19 and 18 points, respectively, to lead the Coyotes to a 79-70 win against Kansas City Tuesday inside the DakotaDome.
It was the fifth win in a row for USD (6-3), which played at home for the second time this season. The Coyotes host CSU Bakersfield at 5:30 p.m. Saturday before starting a four-game road trip.
Kansas City (5-4) got a game-high 25 points from junior guard LaVell Boyd, who knocked down five three-pointers and made 10 of 19 shots from the field. Broderick Newbill added 13 points and seven rebounds off the Kangaroos' bench.
Norris, who played 27 minutes off the bench, scored 17 points in the second half and had 10 points in the final three minutes to put the game away. His 19 points were a season best and one point off his career mark set two years ago. Norris also led South Dakota with four assists and had a steal.
South Dakota led 37-34 at halftime and 63-48 with seven minutes to go following a bucket in the paint by Norris. Bell hit three triples during a 13-3 run that closed the gap to 66-61 with just under four minutes to go. The teams went scoreless for nearly two minutes before Norris hit the first of back-to-back 3-pointers that pushed the lead back to double digits. Norris made 4 of 5 free throws in the final minute.
The Coyotes shot better than 50 percent (30 of 58) from the field for the fourth time during their five-game streak. They scored 19 points off 19 Kansas City turnovers and outscored the 'Roos 14-8 from the free-throw line.
South Dakota big man
Eric Robertson finished one rebound shy of what would have been his first double-double. He scored eight of his 12 points in the second half.
Outside of Boyd, Kansas City made 1 of 13 from beyond the arc and 10 of 46 overall from the field. Martez Harrison, who was leading the 'Roos coming in with nearly 17 points per game, had five points on 2 of 10 shooting. Kansas City had won three of four entering the game and remains the only team to beat South Dakota State this season.
