USD leads in Summit League after win against IPFW
Summit League men’s basketball teams are looking up at the University of South Dakota at the top of conference standings after the Coyotes (8-9, 3-0 Summit) captured their fifth straight win with a 75-61 victory over Fort Wayne (15-6, 3-1 Summit).
Head coach Joey James said he thinks the Coyotes played about 35 minutes of complete basketball on the offensive and defensive ends of the court, in a game many believe was the biggest so far during his tenure as head coach.
“Defensively, I know it shows 42 percent [shooting] on the game, but to hold Fort Wayne to 61 points is pretty incredible. I mean, they’re a very, very efficient offensive basketball team. Hats off to our guys,” James said.
IPFW came into the game with one of the best offenses in the nation, not just in the Summit League conference. The Mastodons were rated ninth in the nation in field goal percentage, but the Coyotes limited them to 42 percent from the field, including 34.6 percent in the first half.
USD capitalized on their strong defensive performance with key runs to end the first half and to extend their lead to 20 in the second half. All this despite the team’s second leading scorer and bona fide leader Trevor Gruis being in foul trouble.
“Before the game, Coach James emphasized to us that this wasn’t a pressure game for us. We were the underdogs coming into this game. We were the underdogs coming into this season. Finally we came together for almost 40 minutes,” sophomore guard Adam Thoseby said.
The Coyotes were sparked offensively by 21 points off 6-10 shooting and 9 rebounds from senior Karim Rowson.
“I’ve been off of it from coming into last year to think year, coming off some personal problems. But I just wanted to play for these guys,” Rowson said.
A well-traveled member of the USD squad, the game was as much a shining moment for the program as well as Rowson.
“I was so happy for Karim,” James said. “This guy had a monster statline tonight.”
IPFW fought to make the contest close near the end. A 9-0 run behind threes by Mo Evans found the Mastadons down 64-53 with just under five minutes to play. But after a minute-long stalemate of scoring, Rowson came through with a big defensive strip and a couple scores to help the Coyotes close out the game.
Forward Luis Jacobo led IPFW with 19 points while guard Brandon Bos added 13 points for the Coyotes.
USD will now try to carry the momentum of their win streak next Thursday at Western Illinois. The Coyotes won all five of their games at home and are looking to win only their second game of the season on the road.
“If we play this way, the Coyote basketball way, which is the way we played today, which is with effort, hustle for forty minutes, I think we’re tough to beat,” James said. “I thought our guys went to war and won the battle.”
