VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota basketball travels to Flagstaff, Arizona Saturday for a meeting with Northern Arizona to cap off this year's Big Sky – Summit Challenge. The Yotes opened up their portion of the challenge with a 94-80 win over Idaho State Wednesday in the SCSC.
 
Quick Hitters

• South Dakota basketball hits the road for its second game of the Big Sky - Summit Challenge against Northern Arizona Saturday in Flagstaff, Arizona.
• Through the first 10 games, the Coyotes have spread the wealth offensively with five players averaging 10 or more points per game, and nine averaging over 4.5 per game.
• Chase Forte leads the Yotes in a number of categories including points per game (13.6), assists (3.1), steals (2.0) and minutes (25.5).
• Isaac Bruns has scored in double figures in nine of the first 10 games to start the season and is averaging a 13.3 points per game which ranks second on the team.
• Bruns and Bullock lead a South Dakota bench unit that ranks No. 4 in the NCAA in bench points at 40.5 points per game.
• Bullock is third on the team at 10.6 points per game and second with 1.9 steals per contest.
• Kaleb Stewart and Chase Forte went off in the Coyotes pair of nonconference Big 10 games. Stewart scored 26 points, his first of two double-digit performance this season on 11-of-19 shooting with a four 3-pointers. Forte scored all 20 of his points in the second-half against the Huskers with three 3-pointers.
• Chase Forte had back-to-back 20-point games for the first time this season, as he poured in 20 points against Nebraska on Nov. 27 and put together a 21 points, six assist, five rebound and five steal stat line in a win over Idaho State Wednesday in the SCSC.
• The Coyotes went 11-for-21 (52.4%) from beyond the arc against the Bengals. It was the Yotes fifth game this season with 10+ triples, and the first time they shot over 50% from deep in a game.
• The Summit League went 5-4 against the Big Sky in the first round of the challenge with South Dakota, Oral Roberts, St. Thomas, North Dakota State and Denver earning wins.
• 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

• Saturday's game vs Northern Arizona can be found on ESPN+.
   

Series History vs. Northern Arizona

• South Dakota leads 4-2 all-time against Northern Arizona and won the most recent matchup 76-71 in overtime in the 2021-22 season.
   

A Little Bit of Everything

• Chase Forte was all over the floor in the Coyotes 94-80 win over Idaho State Wednesday as he poured in 21 points, six assists, five rebounds, five steals and one block.
• Forte has scored in double-figures in four straight games, averaging 17.0 points per game over that stretch while shooting 53.7% from the field.
• He has three games this season with 20+ points
• Forte has a tallied a steal in every game this season, and has had multiple in five.
• He's dished out 3+ assists in five games and grabbed 4+ boards four times.

 
Everyone Eats

• Behind a balanced attack, the Coyotes boast the No. 13 ranked scoring offense in the NCAA at 87.8 points per game.
• Five Yotes averaged double-digit point totals and nine score over 4.5 points per game.
• Chase Forte leads the team in a number of categories including points per game (13.6), assists (3.1), steals (2.0) and minutes (25.5) per game.
• Isaac Bruns is second in scoring at 12.8 points per game, and leads the USD bench mob that averages 40.5 points per game.
• Kaleb Stewart adds 10.4 points and has scored 20+ twice.
• Dre Bullock is the fourth Coyote that averages double-digit points (10.6), while Cameron Fens adds 10.0 points and a team-leading 5.0 boards per game.

Bench Mob

• The Coyotes bolster the No. 4 ranked bench unit in the NCAA at 40.5 points per game.
• Isaac Bruns has provided instant offense for Eric Peterson's squad, as he's averaging 13.3 points per game in 20.0minutes off the bench. 
• Bruns has scored in double-digits in nine of 10 games.
• Dre Bullock has reached double-figures in five of nine games he's played in and has had multiple steals in seven 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
  
  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 of four double-digit scoring performance of the season (14 pts vs Texas A&M-Commerce & 12 points at Southern Indiana).
• Fens has flexed his muscles on the other end of the floor, tallying two or more blocks in five 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 five yotes to average 10.0+ points per game.
• Fens is active on the offensive glass, as he corrals 2.5 offensive boards per game.

 
Defensive Pressure

• Behind a rotation of players and a full court press, the Coyotes have forced on average 14.5 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 2 among Summit League teams.
• The Yotes turn defense to offense as they average 19.3 points per game off opponents turnovers.
• Chase Forte and Dre Bullock rank No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, in the Summit Leauge in steals with 20 and 17.
• South Dakota has held 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 six games this season. USD had a season high 24 assists in its win over Randall.

Rebounding by Committee

• It has been a group effort on the boards to begin the season, with five Yotes averaging 3.3+ rebounds per game.
• Cameron Fens is the top rebounder for the Yotes at 5.0 boards per game (2.5 offensive). Fens notched his first career double-double against WMU (11/20/24) with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
• Ashton Smith's 4.6 rebounds per game is second highest on the team, while the Bruns brothers, Paul and Isaac, are No.  3 and 4 with 4.4 and 4.1 rebounds per game.