VERMILLION — The University of South Dakota men’s basketball team picked up a narrow, yet impressive 82-81 victory over Wyoming on Tuesday night in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center and Chase Forte was at the center of it all.
He finished with a game and season-high 25 points, five assists and five rebounds on the night. Twenty-three of his 25 points came in the second half as well. Kaleb Stewart finished with 17 points while Quandre Bullock finished with 14. The Coyotes also forced the Cowboys into many unforced mistakes which led to 19 total turnovers compared to USD’s 10.
Head coach Eric Peterson said he’s challenged Forte to really lead the Coyotes from the point guard spot and felt he stepped up to the challenge tonight. He was especially pleased with his defensive performance.
“He told me tonight it would be his best defensive game. He was well rested in the second half because he was in foul trouble but he was elite on defense,” Peterson said. “He was getting downhill and getting to the free throw line in the second half. Wyoming, they take away 3-pointers. They're really good at taking away threes. They don't allow many so with them staying close to those shooters, we were able to get downhill and finish at the rim or get fouled, which is really important to control the second half.”
It was as even as it could be throughout the first half. USD lived and died with its heavy press defense, which forced a lot of turnovers but also allowed easy baskets at the same time. By the end of the first half, the Coyotes forced eight turnovers. However, USD rarely made use of those takeaways with only six points off of them.
The Cowboys were also dominating down low. They had a 21-12 rebound advantage and 20 of their 37 first-half points came in the paint. Both teams finished the first half with a fairly efficient shooting percentage as well with USD holding a slight edge at 46.2% compared to Wyoming’s 45.2%.
The two were tied at 37-37 heading into the locker room. Stewart was leading the Coyotes with 13 points by half and was the only player on either team in double-figures.
It was Forte’s show to start the second half. He was being ultra-aggressive driving straight at the basket and it was paying dividends. He scored eight points within the first five minutes as USD put a bit of distance on Wyoming with a five-point lead.
“I mean, they were in the drop (coverage), so I guess they were trying to make me settle and I don't want to settle,” Forte said. “I just went downhill, found an open guy or just finished at the rim.”
The Coyotes maintained a steady five to eight-point advantage over the next eight minutes with Forte still commanding the court. He was up to 21 points and was shooting a staggering 80% from the field with the Coyotes leading 64-57 with 7:58 to play.
However, the Cowboys continued to fight back and close the gap. By the final media timeout, the Coyotes’ advantage dwindled down to only three at 74-71. Things eventually came down to the final 20 seconds. Wyoming had a chance to take the lead down one with about 20 seconds left, but a turnover gave USD the ball with 12 seconds. Two made free throws put the Coyote up by three with 10 seconds left.
USD eventually ran out the clock following two made Wyoming free throws to finish off a narrow 82-81 victory.
USD (8-4) will face Western Illinois at 11 a.m on Saturday, Dec. 14 in Vermillion, while Wyoming (5-4) will travel to face BYU on the same day.
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