ST. GEORGE, Utah — Kaleb Stewart and Chase Forte combined for 50 points on the night, but South Dakota basketball dropped a 92-87 road contest to Utah Tech Thursday night at Burns Arena.
 
Stewart was efficient throughout the game as he poured in a season-high 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting while going 3-for-5 from deep. Forte notched his third straight game with 20+ points with 24 on 8-of-19 shooting to go along with six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.
 
Paul Bruns added 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting with four rebounds, while Isaac Bruns added 12 points and had six boards off the bench. The Coyotes shot .465 percent from the floor and were 8-for-21 from deep, while the Trailblazers connected on .492 percent from the field and 13-of-29 beyond the arc.
 
Stewart and Forte paved the way in the opening 20 minutes with 12 and 11 points, respectively as the Yotes led 42-39 at the intermission. Just after the midway point of the first half, Stewart scored eight straight points in under a minute to give USD a 32-26 advantage. Isaac Bruns knocked down his second 3-pointer of the half and Stewart followed with a jumper, and the Yotes would carry a three-point advantage into the halftime break.
 
Stewart and Forte scored nine straight USD points to give the Yotes their largest lead of the game so far, 56-48, four minutes into the second half. After the Trailblazers cut the USD lead back down to three with 11:59 remaining, Paul Bruns scored eight straight with a 3-pointer, a layup and a steal and score to give USD its first double-digit lead of the game, 69-59. The Yotes and Trailblazers traded baskets for the next seven minutes, and USD would lead 82-73 with 3:27 left in the contest. Utah Tech, however, would outscore the Yotes 19-5 over the final three minutes to secure the 92-87 win.
 
South Dakota closes out the nonconference schedule on Saturday when they face Santa Clara in Santa Clara, California at 4:00 p.m. CT.
 
Notes

• South Dakota moves to 9-5 on the season and 1-5 on the road
• Kaleb Stewart scored a season-high 26 points, his third game with 20+ points this season
• Chase Forte scored 20+ points in his third straight game with 24 tonight
• Forte has scored in double-figures in eight straight and has 20+ in five of the last six games
• Isaac Bruns has scored in double-figures in 12 of 14 games this season
• USD scored more points in the paint (42-36) but Utah Tech won the rebounding battle 41-36
• South Dakota only had seven turnovers on the night, but forced a season-low seven turnovers