VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota basketball continues its week on the road Friday night when they take on Southern Indiana in Liberty Arena in Evansville, Indiana at 7:00 p.m.
 
Quick Hitters

• South Dakota basketball earned its first road win of the season Wednesday night in Kalamazoo with an 80-76 win over Western Michigan. The Yotes continue their week on the road Friday when they take on Southern Indiana in Evansville, Indiana at 7:00 p.m.
• Dre Bullock became the sixth different leading scorer for Eric Peterson's squad over the first six games after pouring in 20 points to go with three steals against the Broncos. Bullock's 20 points were a season high, while Cameron Fens tallied his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
• Through the first six games, the Coyotes have spread the wealth offensively with five players averaging 10 or more points per game, and nine averaging over 5.0 per game.
• The Coyotes have had a different leading scorer in each game so far this season.
• Dre Bullock has been a double-digit scorer in four of the first six contests.
• Isaac Bruns has scored in double figures in five of the first six games to start the season and is averaging a team-high 12.8 points per game. The sophomore guard poured in a career high 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting with three 3-pointers in Thursday's win over Dakota Wesleyan.
• Bruns and Bullock lead a South Dakota bench unit that ranks No. 14 in the NCAA in bench points at 39.83 points per game.
• Kaleb Stewart went off for 26 points, his first double-digit performance of the season, at Iowa last Tuesday on 11-of-19 shooting with a four 3-pointers.
• Chase Forte does a little bit of everything for the Coyotes and averages the second most points per game at 11.5, to go with 3.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.2 boards per game.
• South Dakota was one of four men's basketball teams in the country to play five games in 11 days to kick off the season. Of the four teams, USD held the best record at 4-1, followed by Pacific (3-2), Louisiana-Monroe (2-3) and Coppin State (0-5).
   

Where to Watch

• Friday's game against the Screaming Eagles can be found on the ESPN+.
   

Series History vs. Southern Indiana

• This will be the first meeting between the Coyotes and Screaming Eagles since the 1993-94 season.
• Southern Indiana won that matchup by a score of 98-77 at a neutral site.
   

Everyone Eats

• The Coyotes have had a different leading scorer in each of the first six games of the season.
• The leading scorer in three of those games have come from a player off the bench.
• Shey Eberwein (15 pts) led USD to a 77-47 win over Mount Marty, Isaac Bruns had 23 points in a 92-69 win over Dakota Wesleyan and Dre Bullock scored 20 points in the 80-76 win over WMU.
• Five Yotes averaged double-digit point totals and nine score over 5.0 points per game.
• Isaac Bruns set a new career-high of 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting in the Yotes win over Dakota Wesleyan last week.
• Kaleb Stewart poured in a season high 26 points with four treys in the Coyotes loss at Iowa on 11/12/24.
• Paul Bruns paced the Yotes in the season-opener with 14 points, one of five Coyotes in double-figures.
• Chase Forte poured in 23 in the win over Texas A&M-Commerce, a game where six Yotes scored 10+ points.
•    In the most recent win over the Lancers, Shey Eberwein totaled a career-high 15 points with three treys in 21 minutes off the bench.
• Isaac Bruns is the top scorer for the Yotes at 14.0 points per game in 19.8 minutes off the bench for USD. Dre Bullock is also part of the Coyote bench mob and averages the third most points at 11.3
• Chase Forte (11.5), Kaleb Stewart (10.2) and Paul Bruns (10.0) also average double-digit point totals.

Feed the Big Fella

• Cameron Fens has made his presence known in the middle of the Coyote lineup and tallied his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Western Michigan.
• It was Fen's second double-digit scoring performance of the season (14 pts vs Texas A&M-Commerce).
• Fens has flexed his muscles on the other end of the floor, tallying two or more blocks in four games this season.
• The seven-footer rejected a season-high three blocks in the Yotes win over Mount Marty (11/10/24)
• Fens is one of six yotes to average 9.0+ points per game.
• Fens is active on the offensive glass, as he corrals 2.7 offensive boards per game.

 
Defensive Pressure

• Behind a rotation of players and a full court press, the Coyotes have forced on average 16.3 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 2 among Summit League teams and No. 50 in the NCAA.
• Dre Bullock and Chase Forte have each tallied 12 steals on the season, which is tied for the lead among Summit League players and No. 31 in the NCAA.
• South Dakota has held five of six opponents to a negative assist-to-turnover ratio.
• USD forced a season-high 24 turnovers in the win over Mount Marty.
• The Yotes have held a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in four of six games this season.

Bench Mob

• The Coyotes bolster the No. 14 ranked bench unit in the NCAA at 39.8 points per game.
• Isaac Bruns has provided instant offense for Eric Peterson's squad, as he's averaging a team-high 12.8 points per game in 19.8 minutes off the bench. 
• Bruns has scored in double-digits in five of six games.
• Dre Bullock has reached double-figures in four of six games and has had multiple steals in four contests.
• Shey Eberwein set a career-high of 15 points in 21 minutes off the bench in USD's win over Mount Marty.
• It also marked the first game of his career where Eberwein led the Yotes in scoring.
  
  Lights Out on the Road
• While the Yotes have been cold from deep on the road across the first two games away from the SCSC, road venues didn't intimidate the Coyote sharpshooters a season ago. USD knocked down 103 treys in 14 road contests with a .386 3-point percentage on the road.
• The Yotes ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in road 3-point shooting (.386%) in the 2023-24 season.
• Kaleb Stewart was especially lethal from range on the road with 34 triples on a .472 conversion rate.
• In the USD's only road game of the season so far, they shot 10-for-32 from deep and were led by Stewart who went 4-for-10 from deep at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Rebounding by Committee

• It has been a group effort on the boards to begin the season, with six Yotes averaging three or more rebounds per game.
• Cameron Fens is the top rebounder for the Yotes at 5.5 boards per game (2.7 offensive). Fens notched his first career double-double against WMU (11/20/24) with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
• The Bruns brothers, Paul and Isaac, are No. 2 and 3 with 4.8 and 4.4 rebounds per game.
• Paul Bruns has led the Yotes in rebounding in three games

 
Second Half Outbursts

• South Dakota is averaging 46.7 points in the second half of games, compared to 38.3 points in the first half.
• Paul Bruns had himself a second half in the Coyotes 80-76 win over Western Michigan (11/20/24), as he poured in all 18 of his points in the final 20 minutes of action.
• Bruns was 6-for-9 from the field in the second half, 3-for-5 from deep and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe.
• Bruns pushed the Coyote lead to double-figures late in the contest, 70-59 with just under four minutes left, as he scored nine straight points off an and-one and two straight triples.
• The South Dakota offense exploded for 59 second half points against Texas A&M-Commerce Wednesday night in the SCSC.