VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota basketball returns to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center for its next two games starting this Saturday against Prairie View A&M at 1 p.m.
 
Quick Hitters

• Isaac Bruns has scored 20+ in each of the last four games and increased his scoring average to 19.7 points per game which ranks No. 2 in the conference and No. 35 in the NCAA.
• Bruns ranks No. 22 in the NCAA with 70 field goals made, No. 10 in free throws made (66) and No. 19 in free throw attempts (78).
• Bruns picked up his first career Summit League Peak Performer of the Week last week following a 24-point performance against Air Force.
• The Coyotes pace the Summit League with an 83.2 points per game average. The Yotes have scored 80 or more points in six games this season.
• Cameron Fens notched his first double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds in last Saturday's game at Northern Colorado and had six boards off the offensive glass.
• Preseason All-Summit League First Team selection Isaac Bruns ranks No. 2 in the conference at 19.5 points per game this season
• The Coyotes have been among the best in the NCAA so far this season in crashing the offensive glass, ranking No. 19 in the country with 14.6 offensive boards per game. USD has secured 10+ offensive rebounds in nine of the first 11 games.
• Six Coyotes have over 10 offensive rebounds this year with Cameron Fens leading the way with 20. The Coyote guards have been active as well led by Isaac Bruns (19), Vince Buzelis (15), Evan Anderson (13) and Uzziah Buntyn (12). Jake Brack is the sixth Yote with 16.
• In the Coyotes win over Ozark Christian on Nov. 9, South Dakota set a new program record for points in a first half with 72, breaking the record of 70 points against Westmar in 1977.
• South Dakota was picked to finish fifth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll and received one first place vote. Isaac Bruns was named to the conference's preseason first team. He was an All-Summit League Honorable Mention a season ago.
• Eric Peterson enters year four as the head coach of the South Dakota men's basketball team and holds a 48-57 overall record.

How to Follow

• Saturday's matchup between the Coyotes and Panthers will be available on Midco Sports Plus and the Summit League Network
• The radio call by Daniel Ver Steeg can be found on the Coyote Sports Network on the Varsity Network app.

Series History

• Saturday will be the first meeting between the Coyotes and Panthers.

Ice is Heating Up

• Isaac Bruns has filled up the scoring column over the past four games with four straight 20+ point performances.
• Bruns is averaging 25.5 points per game in the last four and is shooting 45.1% from the field.
• Bruns has taken advantage of his trips to the charity stripe going 35-for-39 (89.7%) over the last four and is a perfect 17-for-17 in the last two games.
• Bruns is among the best in the NCAA at getting to and converting at the free throw line as he ranks No. 10 in the country in free throw makes (66) and No. 19 in attempts (78).
• During the current four-game stretch, he has also averaged 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
• Bruns ranks No. 2 in the conference and No. 35 in the NCAA at 19.7 points per game.

PPOTW for Isaac

• Isaac Bruns became the first Coyote this season to be named a Kwik Star Summit League Peak Performer of the Week Tuesday.
• Bruns poured in a then career high 24 points against Air Force Saturday and had six rebounds (four offensive).
• Bruns was key to holding off a second half run by the Falcons, as he scored 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting in the final 20 minutes to lead the Yotes to an 80-63 win in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Crashing the Glass

• Behind six players with 10+ offensive rebounds on the season, the Coyotes rank No. 19 in the NCAA and No. 1 in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (14.6).
• Cameron Fens pulled down six offensive boards in Saturday's game against Northern Colorado and leads USD with 20 on the season. Fens also secured his first double-double of the season with 11 rebounds to go with a career high 18 points against the Bears.
• Isaac Bruns and Jake Brack are second and third on the team with 19 and 16 offensive boards, respectively.
• Vince Buzelis (15), Evan Anderson (13) and Uzziah Buntyn (12) are the other Yotes with double-digit o-boards.
• After corralling 10+ offensive rebounds in each of the first nine games to start the year, the Yotes have been held to under 10 offensive boards in each of the last two games.

Freebies

• South Dakota ranks in the top-20 in the NCAA in both free throw attempts per game (19th) at 27.6 and free throw makes per game (20th) at 20.3.
• Bruns has converted 66 of his 78 attempts at the charity stripe, while Uzziah Buntyn is second on the team and is 31-for-42.
• Five Coyotes with over 20+ free throw attempts on the year are shooting at a 72.0% clip or higher.
• The Yotes have attempted 30+ free throws in four games this season, including a season-high 37-of-46 in the win over Southern Indiana. USD has made 20+ in five contests.

We've Got Options

• South Dakota has had a different leading scorer in five games so far this season.
• Isaac Bruns has led the Yotes in scoring six times and in each of the last four games.
• Jordan Crawford is the only other Coyote to lead the team in scoring on multiple occassions. Crawford did that in back-to-back games with 18 points at Missouri and 25 against South Carolina State, which was a new career-high.
• The Coyotes have been led in scoring by a true freshman in two games this season with Jesse McIntosh scoring 20 in a win over Ozark Christian College (11/9) and Uzziah Buntyn pouring in 19 points and five 3-pointers in the win over Western Michigan.
• Redshirt-sophomore, Shey Eberwein, had a team-high 18 in a win over Southern Indiana, which also set a new career-high.
• South Dakota had five players score in double-figures for the first time this season in last Saturday's game at Northern Colorado.

Scoring in Bunches

• The Yotes finished last season ranked No. 3 in the NCAA at 85.2 points per game.
• After scoring in the high 70s in the first two games of the year, the Coyote offense has found its groove and has a Summit League leading 83.6 points per game average.
• South Dakota has scored over 80 points in six of the last nine games, including a 121 point outburst against Ozark Christian. USD is averaging 84.4 points over the last eight games.
• The Yotes pace the Summit League in points per game and are the only team in the conference averaging 80.0+.

Feed the Big Fella

• Cameron Fens's double-digit point streak of four games was snapped against Wyoming. The previous four games, Fens averaged 14.3 points and 7.8 rebounds with six blocks.
• Fens secured his first double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds at Northern Colorado last Saturday.
• He has six games this season with 10+ points and is shooting 49.4% from the field.