SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – South Dakota basketball broke a program record for points in a first half with 72 Sunday afternoon as they cruised to a 121-65 win over Ozark Christian College in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
The Yotes’ 72 first half points broke the record that’s stood since 1977 when USD scored 70 vs Westmar. The Coyotes had five players reach double-figures, highlighted by freshman Jesse McIntosh and redshirt-freshman Porter Ihnen who each scored 20 points. In addition to setting a new career-high for points, Ihnen also recorded his first career double-double with 13 rebounds and was 9-for-9 from the field. Of his 13 rebounds over half (seven) were on the offensive glass. Uzziah Buntyn scored in double-figures for the first time with 13 and dished out eight assists, a team high.
The Coyotes knocked down 12 of 26 attempts from deep with McIntosh connecting on 3-of-6 from deep, while Isaac Bruns and Ethan Kizer knocked down a pair each.
The Yotes shot .588 percent from the floor, .462 from deep and .789 from the free throw line. The Yotes scored 60 points in the paint and had 77 points from their bench unit.
Ethan Kizer connected on his first triple of the afternoon as USD took its first double-digit lead, 18-7. South Dakota held the lead from start to finish, and extended its lead to 30, 62-32, off a Jordan Crawford tripe with 2:30 left in the first half. A 10-0 Coyote run over a minute and a half of action pushed the first half point total to 72, breaking the program record for points in a half. McIntosh paced the Yotes in the opening 20 minutes with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while Bruns was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field with 12 points and a pair of 3-pointers. Buntyn dished out seven helpers in the first half in nine minutes of action.
Ihnen poured in 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting in the second half and grabbed eight boards. South Dakota was 19-for-33 from the field in the second half and held Ozark Christian to 10-of-24 shooting. The Coyotes were in control for the entire second half and took their largest lead at the four-minute mark, 114-58, during a stretch where Ihnen scored on three straight Coyote possessions. Ihnen closed out the scoring, knocking down a triple with a minute remaining and USD won 121-65.
South Dakota continues a three-game home stretch next week starting on Wednesday night when they host Southern Indiana in the SCSC at 7 p.m.
Notes
- South Dakota moves to 1-2 on the 2025-26 season
- Porter Ihnen and Jesse McIntosh each scored 20 points for the first time in their careers
- Ihnen posted a double-double with 13 rebounds for the first time
- The Yotes broke the program’s record for most points in a first half with 72, a record that’s held since 1977 (70 vs Westmar)
- Five Coyotes scored in double-figures in McIntosh (20), Ihnen (20), Bruns (14), Buntyn (13) and Crawford (11).
- The USD bench scored 77 points
- The Yotes had 60 points in the paint and 36 second chance points
- South Dakota shot .588 percent from the field and had 24 assists to just nine turnovers
- All 12 Coyotes who saw the floor scored in today’s contest
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