Louie Krogman

Edwardsville, Ill. – The South Dakota men’s basketball team hit its first 11 shots from the field in the second half to turn a 12-point halftime lead into a 91-69 blowout of SIU Edwardsville on Friday night at the Vadalabene Center. The non-conference victory moved USD to 13-9 on the season and gave the Coyotes their longest winning streak of the season at four games.

Senior forward Tyler Cain (Rochester, Minn.) led USD with 16 points, nine rebounds and six blocks, while sophomore guard Louie Krogman (White River, S.D.) notched 15 points thanks in part to three treys. Senior center Steve Smith (Sioux Falls, S.D.) added 14 and junior guard Mitchell Bouie (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 11. Freshman guard Jake Thomas (Racine, Wis.) had a team-high five assists.

USD shot 65 percent (37-of-57) from the field for the game, including 70 percent (19-of-27) in the second half, while connecting on 6-of-12 (50 percent) treys and the Coyote defense held the Cougars to 39 percent (27-of-69). South Dakota outscored SIUE 54-26 in the paint and had an 18-0 advantage on the fastbreak.

The Coyotes jumped out to an early 9-5 advantage in the first four minutes, as Smith and Cain scored the first nine USD points. SIUE cut the lead the one at 13-12, but a quick 8-0 spurt by South Dakota was capped by a Krogman three and put USD up 21-12 at the 12:28 mark. The teams exchanged buckets over the next four minutes until a Bouie layup made the USD lead 11.

The Cougars (3-20) fought back again to draw within three at 33-30 with 2:43 left, before the Coyotes ended the half with a 10-1 run to take a 43-31 lead into the locker room. Redshirt freshman Jordan Boots (Vermillion, S.D.) hit a trey, Bouie converted an old fashion three-point play and Cain topped the run with a dunk. USD shot 60 percent (18-of-30) from the field and scored 28 points in the paint in the half, while holding SIUE to 40 percent (12-of-30). Cain had 13 points, while Smith chipped in nine and Bouie had seven.

Senior forward Roman Gentry (Sioux City, Iowa) hit a quick three to open the second half and the Coyotes blew the game open from there with some near-flawless basketball. USD hit its first 11 shots of the half, including four treys, as the Coyotes didn’t miss until Krogman couldn’t connect on a three at the 10:57 mark. Smith, Cain, Bouie and junior guard Kendall Cutler (Brooklyn, N.Y.) all contributed to run the lead to as many as 19, before back-to-back treys from Krogman and another from Boots put USD up 68-43 with 12:58 left.

The Coyotes couldn’t keep up the torrid pace, though, and SIUE cut the lead to 18 with just under 10 minutes left. Buckets from Krogman and free throws down the stretch allowed USD to take the advantage over 20 again and cruise from there. Krogman had 12 points in the half.

South Dakota returns to the friendly confines of the DakotaDome to begin a three-game homestand in Great West Conference play on Thursday. Tip off against Chicago State is set for 8 p.m.