USD Men’s Basketball Claims a Win in Tulsa

The Coyote men’s basketball team faced Oral Roberts at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday, Feb. 8. South Dakota won by just one point with a final score of 75-74

Senior guard Chase Forte led the team in points with 14, while senior guard Paul Bruns contributed 11. Both men led South Dakota with 8 rebounds each.

Junior forward Ashton Smith recorded two blocks and P. Bruns, along with his sophomore brother Isaac Bruns, had three steals in the game.

USD held a 17-13 lead 10 minutes into the game and the Coyotes took their first double-digit lead at the score of 30-20. South Dakota would carry a 34-30 lead going into halftime.

Senior guard Dre Bullock and Forte led South Dakota in the second half with 10 and nine points, respectively. The duo also shot 12-of-14 from the free throw line.

The Golden Eagles took the lead 40-38 four minutes into the second half, which continued until the 16-minute mark with Oral Roberts keeping the lead or South Dakota tying the score.

P. Bruns along with Bullock made back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 70. With 32 seconds remaining, Oral Roberts made two free throws to tie the game at 74. 

Forte was fouled at the tail-end of the game, in which he made one free throw to put South Dakota in the lead. The Golden Eagles could not make their 3-point attempt at the buzzer, which secured the 75-74 win for the Coyotes.

Making this Forte’s 10th straight double-double game. The Coyotes moved to 15-10 on the season and 6-4 in conference play.

The men will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 13 at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center against Kansas City for the Black History Month Game. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.