IOWA CITY, Iowa — The South Dakota basketball team battled with the Iowa Hawkeyes through the first 20 minutes of Tuesday's game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but the opening five minutes of the second half would ultimately decide the contest as USD fell 96-77.
 
Kaleb Stewart was back to form, pouring in 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting with four 3-pointers. Stewart added two steals, two boards and a pair of assists in the game. Isaac Bruns scored in double-figures for his fourth straight game to start the season with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and grabbed four boards.
 
Cameron Fens and Dre Bullock were the leading rebounders for the Coyotes with seven each. Bullock also dished out a team high three assists and knocked down two triples.
 
The Hawkeyes won the first five minutes out of the halftime intermission, outscoring South Dakota 17-5 to take a 59-41 lead with 15:26 on the clock. Iowa maintained a double-digit lead through the remainder of the second half behind a .647 shooting percentage. The Hawkeyes knocked down 5-of-11 attempts from deep in the final 20 minutes, while the Yotes shot .500 percent from the field and 5-of-13 from deep.
 
The Yotes battled in the first half, keeping the Hawkeye lead to six or under for the majority of the half. Back-to-back buckets from Paul Bruns and Ashton Smith knotted the score at 7-7, and on the ensuing possessions Bullock and Iowa's Josh Dix would trade 3-point baskets. After Iowa took its largest lead of the first half, 40-29, Kaleb Stewart started a 7-0 USD run that brought the Hawkeye lead down to four, 40-36. Iowa's Josh Dix would score the final basket of the first half, however, and the Hawkeyes would lead 42-36 going into the break. Stewart paced the Yotes in the first 20, scoring 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting with a pair of treys.
 
South Dakota returns to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Thursday when they host Dakota Wesleyan at 6:00 p.m.
 
Notes

• South Dakota falls to 3-1 on the season
• Kaleb Stewart poured in a season-high 26 points, his first game of the season with 20+ points
• Isaac Bruns recorded his fourth straight games in double-digit scoring to begin the season
• South Dakota came away with 14 offensive rebounds, but only tallied 11 second chance points
• The Coyotes received 31 points from the bench unit and scored 36 points in the paint
• USD seven made free throws and 14 free throw attempts were both season lows
• USD connected on 10+ triples for the second time this season
• Stewart went 4-for-10 from the 3-point line, his first game of the season with multiple triples
• Cameron Fens and Dre Bullock led the Yotes in rebounding with seven each