VERMILLION, S.D.— South Dakota point guard
A.J. Plitzuweit scored 18 of his career-high 31 points in the first 10 minutes and the Coyotes buried a season-best 14 3-pointers in crushing Denver, 93-54, Saturday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
It was the Summit League opener for both teams. Game two of the weekend series is set for 4 p.m. Sunday. USD has won the last six matchups in a series it leads 12-8.
Plitzuweit was 9-of-13 from the field including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc and made 8-of-9 free throws. He surpassed his season-high of 24 points against Nebraska and his previous career mark of 26 set at the Division II level. Plitzuweit also pulled down six boards and had three assists.
"AJ made a lot of shots early, then our guys followed up,"
Todd Lee said. "You're not going to lose many games going 14-for-26 from 3."
Stanley Umude added 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds and
Tasos Kamateros buried three triples on his way to a season-best 13 points. The Coyotes (3-6, 1-0) shot 52 percent from the field and were 14-of-26 from downtown for 54 percent.
Denver (1-7, 0-1) got 13 points from Tristan Green, but Jase Townsend, a preseason all-Summit pick who entered with a 20 points per game average, was stymied with just seven points on five shots. It was the first time Townsend failed to reach double digits this season. He held the nation's 37
th-best scoring average entering the weekend.
"We have 11 guys who didn't play for us last year who are starting to learn the system," Lee said. "They're figuring out where shots are coming from and where to get the ball to, and we're learning as a staff, too. It's a combination of our staff learning the players and the players learning the system. They're feeling a lot more comfortable."
Credit the defense of
Xavier Fuller and a Coyote squad that forced Denver into 20 turnovers. The Pioneers shot just 35 percent for the game (19-of-58) including an 8-for-26 effort from 3-point range.
Plitzuweit scored 18 of USD's first 25 points, but the Coyote lead was a modest 25-19 with nine minutes to go in the first half. It was three unanswered treys from Kamateros that broke it open less than two minutes later. South Dakota went on to score 18 unanswered points and took a 49-24 lead into halftime. Plitzuweit had 21 in the first.
Plitzuweit assisted on a layup to Kamateros, buried a pull-up 3 on the next possession and Umude followed suit with a deep triple to start the second half. That made it 57-24 and the rout was on.
Mason Archambault (7 points) and
Ty Chisom (6 points) combined for 13 points off a Coyote bench that contributed 23. They duo also combined for six assists. South Dakota handed out a season-best 22 assists on 33 buckets.
