SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—South Dakota used nine 3-pointers in the first half, led 61-27 at the break and cruised to a 100-79 win against former Great West foe Texas-Rio Grande Valley Friday inside the Sanford Pentagon.
 
UCF transfer Lahat Thioune scored a career-high 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbed 10 boards to lead South Dakota (2-0). Kaleb Stewart made three of the Coyotes' 11 triples and finished with 19 points. Bostyn Holt chipped in 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
 
The Vaqueros (1-1) got a game-high 30 points from Elijah Elliott and 26 from Ahren Freeman who made 11-of-14 shots from the field. UTRGV shot 50 percent in the second half after going 10-of-35 from the field in the first.
 
It was the first meeting between the two teams since the 2010-11 season. The previous five meetings were decided by a total of 16 points, but not this one. The Coyotes were 9-of-13 from beyond the arc in the opening half and led by as many as 37 points.
 
The Vaqueros came out of the halftime break looking to chip away at the Coyotes' 34-point lead, going on a 14-6 run in the first five minutes of the second half. The under-15 media timeout gave South Dakota a chance to regroup and a jumper from Isaac Bruns extended the lead back to 28. The Yotes settled in and shot 44 percent in the second half.
 
Bruns had seven points in seven minutes of action, knocking down all three attempts from the field and going 1-of-1 from beyond the arc. He also snagged a career-high three steals to help the Yotes force 11 Vaquero turnovers.
 
Felix Broström went 3-of-3 from behind the arc and 4-of-4 from the field to record a career-high 11 points.
 
Max Burchill also notched a career-high 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 shooting from three. He grabbed three rebounds and dished three assists in 22 minutes of play.
 
Up next for South Dakota is the Big East's DePaul on Nov. 14 in Chicago. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. Tuesday night.