VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota basketball battled but ultimately dropped its second game of the season in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Sunday afternoon to South Dakota State 94-91.
 
The Coyotes jumped out to an early lead, 10-4, behind Isaac Bruns and Dre Bullock who scored the first 10 points of the game for USD. A steal and pullup triple in transition from Bullock gave the Yotes what would be their largest lead of the game, 15-6, at the 13-minute mark.
 
The Yotes held the lead for the next seven minutes, but the Jackrabbits began to chip away and would pull ahead 31-30 on an Oscar Cluff tip-in. Chase Forte connected beyond the arc and started a 10-2 run capped by a Mayuom Buom flush as USD regained a 40-35 edge. The Yotes held a narrow 42-40 lead going into the intermission and were paced by Bullock (14) and Isaac Bruns (12) who combined for 26 points with five 3-pointers.


The Yotes connected on 7-of-14 attempts from deep in the opening 20, while holding the Jacks to 2-for-11. The Jacks scored over half (26) of their first half points from the paint behind a near double-double at the break from Cluff with eight points and 10 rebounds. USD's full court pressure gave the Jacks trouble in the opening 20, causing eight turnovers with seven USD steals.
 
Bullock picked up right where he left off to start the second half action, connecting on his fourth 3-pointer in USD's first possession. SDSU answered by outscoring the Yotes 18-5 over a four-minute stretch to take its first double-digit lead of the contest, 66-56 and would extend it to 15 points with 3:39 remaining.
 
With their backs against the wall, the Coyotes forced three SDSU turnovers and stormed back with a 16-4 run to pull within three, 92-89, with 25 seconds remaining. With momentum starting to swing in favor of the Yotes, Paul Bruns knocked down a triple and following a SDSU turnover converted an and-one with 1:44 remaining. After a tip-in bucket from Forte that cut the deficit to three with 25 seconds left, the Yotes forced a Jackrabbit turnover, regaining possession with 19 seconds remaining. An Isaac Bruns attempt from beyond the arc was off the mark, however, and the Jacks would leave the SCSC with a 94-91 win.
 
Isaac Bruns and Bullock scored 21 and 20 points, respectively, and each had a pair of steals. Forte added 15 points, five boards, four assists, one block and a steal. Buom chipped in 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting and tied for a team-high with six rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.
 
The Coyotes will look to bounce back on Wednesday night when they host St. Thomas in the SCSC at 7:00 p.m.
 
Notes

• South Dakota is now 16-11 on the season, 12-2 at home and 7-5 in Summit League play
• Dre Bullock scored 20+ points for the fourth time in the last five games
• Chase Forte has scored in double-figures in 12 straight games
• Isaac Bruns has now scored 20+ points in eight games
• Mayuom Buom has scored in double-figures in two straight games
• The Yotes have forced 28 turnovers in the last two games
• The Jacks won the rebounding battle 44-30