VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota basketball avenged an earlier season loss to the Kansas City Roos Thursday night with a 79-71 win in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The Yotes have now won four in a row and are 12-1 in the SCSC.
 
Dre Bullock continued his recent scoring tear with 26 points tonight with three 3-pointers, four boards, four assists and a career-high six steals. Bullock has scored 20 or more points in three of the last four games.
 
Isaac Bruns poured in 21 points with two triples, grabbed three rebounds and had three steals. Chase Forte continues to be a menace on defense, coming away with four steals as the Coyotes totaled 17 steals as a team. Mayuom Buom provided valuable minutes off the bench, a trend over the last seven games, with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
 
The Coyotes had a +13 advantage in the turnover margin, committing just eight turnovers while turning over the Roos 21 times. It's the fifth game in the last seven where the Yotes have had less than 10 turnovers.
 
The Coyote defense set the tone early, forcing 11 KC turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, resulting in 14 USD points. Bullock and Forte led the charge on the defensive end, combining for seven steals in the opening frame. Bullock had it going on both ends of the floor early, as he scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first half. The Coyotes took what would be their largest lead of the night, 27-17, with 8:15 left in the half following a dunk from Bullock and a bucket from Buom. While the Yotes would carry the lead into the halftime break, the Roos brought it back to a four-point game, 38-34.
 
Out of the intermission, Isaac Bruns found his rhythm offensively leading the Yotes in the final 20 with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Bullock continued his scoring output with 13 second half points and a pair of triples. The Roos, however, regained the lead for the first time since early in the first half at the 14-minute mark of the final frame. The Yotes would respond with a 9-2 run to move back in front, 62-60 and would hold the lead the rest of the way. Buom and Bullock combined to score all nine of the Yotes points during the run. The Yotes went 7-for-12 from the free throw line over the final 1:30 and held the Roos to just five points to close out the 79-72 win.
 
South Dakota will look to make it five wins in a row on Sunday when they host South Dakota State at 1:00 p.m.
 
Notes

• South Dakota moves to 16-10 on the season, 12-1 at home and 7-4 in Summit League play
• During the Coyotes current four game win streak, Dre Bullock has averaged 21.5 points per game
• The 17 steals tonight by the Yotes is the most in a game this season and sixth time they've had double-digit takeaways
• Bullock set a career high with six steals
• Chase Forte had his eighth game of the season with 3+ steals
• Isaac Bruns matched his career-high with three steals
• The Coyotes shot 22 free throws tonight, the first time since January 23 with less than 30 attempts from the charity stripe
• The Yotes forced 21 turnovers on the night, the most against a Division I opponent this year
• Chase Forte has scored in double-figures in 11 straight games
• Isaac Bruns has now scored 20+ points in seven games