SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — South Dakota basketball trailed by 11 with five minutes to go and would storm back for an 85-84 win after outscoring North Dakota State 21-9 to earn a spot in the Summit League Tournament Semifinal round.
 
After an eight-point first half from Chase Forte, he took over in the second half with 20 points in the final 20 minutes on 8-of-14 shooting. Forte also grabbed six boards and had three assists. Isaac Bruns put together a consistent 40 minutes, scoring 10 in the first half and 11 in the second for 21 points. Bruns went 8-for-12 from the field with one 3-pointer and recorded his first double-double with 10 rebounds (five offensive).
 
Paul Bruns scored an efficient 12 points and knocked down a trio of timely 3-pointers for the Yotes and went 4-for-6 from the floor. Dre Bullock pulled down six rebounds and had a game high four steals.
 
The Bison held the lead for over 36 minutes of the game, but it was the Yotes who held the lead for the final 39 seconds of regulation to secure the 85-84 win.
 
A dunk from the Bison with just under six minutes to play in regulation gave NDSU a 75-64 advantage, as NDSU looked to hold off a Coyote comeback. A pull-up transition 3-pointer from Isaac Bruns started a 15-3 Coyote run, capped off by a Bullock and-one that gave USD its first lead of the second half, 79-78. The Yotes went 6-for-8 from the free throw line in the final minute of play to close out the one-point win over NDSU.
 
It was slow moving offensively early as the Bison held a 10-8 lead seven minutes into the contest. While NDSU's advantage never got to double-digits in the opening half, they did control the lead for over minutes while the Yotes held the edge for only 17 seconds. The Bison connected on 5-of-10 attempts from deep in the first half, while the Yotes were off the mark going 2-for-12.
 
South Dakota moves on to the semifinal round to face the No. 1 seed Omaha at 7:00 p.m. in the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. 
 
Notes

• South Dakota improves to 19-13 on the season and are now 7-12 at the Summit League Tournament
• Chase Forte has now scored 20+ points in 15 games
• Forte has scored 20+ in five straight and is averaging 27.0 points per game over that span
• Isaac Bruns recorded his first double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds
• The Yotes are 17-0 when leading with 1:00 remaining in the game
• It was just the second game of the season when the Yotes are trailing with 5:00 left in the game
• Mayuom Buom scored 14 points, his sixth time this season with 10+ points
• Paul Bruns added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting with three 3-pointers