VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota basketball fell in its season opener Monday night 81-79 to Utah Tech in overtime in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
 
Isaac Bruns paced the Coyotes with 23 points on the night and got into a rhythm after the first 20 minutes with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting in the second half.
 
In his first career game, Evan Anderson reached double-digit scoring with 10 points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting with one 3-pointer. Anderson pulled down four boards (two offensive) and had a steal in 25 minutes off the bench. Vince Buzelis nearly recorded a double-double in his debut at USD with eight points and 11 rebounds (four offensive).
 
Defense was the name of the game in the first half, as both teams shot under .350 percent from the field and under .150 percent from the 3-point line. Eight Coyotes scored in the opening 20 minutes with Shey Eberwein leading the way with seven on 3-of-4 shooting. The Trailblazers held the lead early, but the Yotes would grab their first lead of the night following five straight points from Eberwein. Utah Tech would regain the lead, and extend the edge to 29-21, but USD ended the half on an 8-1 run to pull within one, 30-29, heading into the intermission.
 
The first five minutes of the second half was evenly matched as the two teams were knotted up at 40-40. The second half was neck-in-neck with neither team leading by more than four points across the full 20 minutes. Bruns had the hot hand out of the break, scoring nine of the Coyotes first 11 points. Jordan Crawford knocked down his first 3-pointer in a Coyote jersey, as the Yotes would take their largest lead of the night, 44-40. Back-to-back buckets from Bruns gave the Coyotes a two-point advantage under two minutes, but the Trailblazers answered with baskets on each of their ensuing possessions and the game would head to overtime tied at 68-68.
 
Utah Tech went 4-for-5 from the field with one 3-pointer and 4-for-5 from the free throw line in the overtime period, while USD took advantage of their trips to the line going 7-for-8. Utah Tech took a six-point lead with 16 seconds left, but a quick and-one from Bruns and a free throw miss by the Trailblazers on the front end of a 1-and-1 gave USD a chance to tie the game with just under five seconds left. UTU fouled Bruns on the inbound pass, and after making the first and intentionally missing the second the Trailblazers would pull down the rebound to secure the 81-79 win.
 
South Dakota will be back in action on Wednesday night when they face preseason #23 Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska.
 
Notes

• South Dakota moves to 0-1 on the 2025-26 season
• Isaac Bruns matched his career high of 23 points, a mark he's now hit three times
• Evan Anderson scored 10 points in his first career game and was perfect from the floor (3-3), from the 3-point line (1-1) and from the free throw line (3-3)
• Vince Buzelis pulled down 10 rebounds in his collegiate debut
• All 10 Coyotes that saw the floor tonight scored