EVANSVILLE, Ind. — South Dakota basketball fell on the road Friday night in Liberty Arena 92-83 to Southern Indiana. Kaleb Stewart was one of four Coyotes in double-figure scoring, leading the Coyotes with 21 points and connected on a season-high five 3-pointers.
 
Stewart grabbed four boards and was followed by Chase Forte who added 14 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists. Cameron Fens scored 12 points and was tied for a team-high with six boards, while Isaac Bruns rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12. Ashton Smith added five points, six boards and two blocks in 17 minutes off the bench.
 
Stewart's first of three first half 3-pointers gave the Yotes an early 7-2 lead three minutes into the contest. The Screaming Eagles, however, scored the next 10 points to grab a five-point edge. The Coyotes regained the lead with an 8-2 run behind a pair of treys from Isaac Bruns and Stewart and a slam dunk from Fens. The Screaming Eagles went ahead by one point on the following possession and would stay in front of the Yotes to take a 41-35 lead into the half.
 
Stewart and Fens were responsible for over half of the Coyotes points in the opening 20 minutes. Stewart knocked down four treys for 12 points and Fens was 5-of-6 from the field for 10 points and grabbed five boards. USD shot 14-of-41 (.341) from the field in the opening 20, while SIU was 18-for-36 (.500).
 
While the Yotes offense shot a higher percentage in the second half (.441), so did the Screaming Eagle offense (.563) and knocked down 5-of-7 attempts from deep.
 
Southern Indiana scored the first five points of the second half, taking its first double-digit lead of the night, 46-35. The Yotes and Screaming Eagles would trade baskets before SIU took its largest lead of the night, 75-59, following a 10-1 run. A bucket from Jake Brack and five straight points from Isaac Bruns brought the deficit back to single digits briefly, before the Screaming Eagles curbed the USD momentum with a 3-pointer of their own.
 
Brack and Bruns made it interesting late, scoring six straight for USD to pull within five, 84-79, with 1:50 remaining. However, the Screaming Ealges went 4-for-4 from the free throw line during crunch time and outscored USD 8-4 over the final two minutes to close out their 92-83 win.
 
South Dakota will return to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center to host Randall University for some Monday night hoops. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m. between the Yotes and Saints.
 
Notes

• South Dakota moves to 5-2 on the season and 1-2 on the road
• Kaleb Stewart hit the 20-point mark for the second time this season with 21 tonight
• Stewart knocked down five 3-pointers, a new season high and the third time he's connected on three more or triples in the last four games
• Fens reached double-figure scoring for the second straight game
• Fens has scored 28 points over the last two games and has shot 13-for-17 (.765) from the field
• Isaac Bruns was the only other Coyote to connect on multiple deep balls with two 3-pointers today
• Ashton Smith has rejected multiple shots in four of the last five games
• South Dakota shot 17-for-18 (.944) from the free throw line tonight, its best percentage from the charity stripe this season
• South Dakota had more rebounds 42-40 and offensive boards 19-12
• The Screaming Eagles shot 36-for-68 (.529) from the floor and held USD to 29-for-75 (.387)