Having scored 96 and 104 points in its first two games, the USD men’s basketball team had relied on its potent offensive attack.
However, Friday night, it was the Coyote defense that led the way.
The Coyotes (3-0) — ranked seventh in the nation — used a balanced 11-man rotation to hold off Truman State 69-46 Friday night in the opening day of its own DakotaDome Classic.
Truman State (0-3) utilize a deliberate and time-consuming offensive which is keyed on controlling the tempo of the game. However, the Bulldogs connected on just 32 percent (17-of-53) on their shots from the field.
Possession after possession the Bulldogs moved the ball around, making sure every player touched it before putting up a shot — which usually came with under 10 seconds on the shot clock.
“They’re a real patient team, so there weren’t going to be a lot of points scored in this game,” USD coach Dave Boots said. “What you try to do is become very impatient and early on we were doing that. But we settled down.”
With five minutes remaining in the first half, USD’s lead was just 23-18, but a late run ballooned the Coyote margin to 40-24 at halftime.
“Our defense picked it up and hit a spark and things started happening for us,” said USD senior guard Nick Morrell, who led the Coyotes with 13 points. “We looked more alive before halftime.”
And through eight minutes in the second half, USD’s zone defense held Truman State without a field goal. By the time the Bulldogs got on the board, the game was well out of hand — the Coyotes were ahead 47-26 by that point.
“We wanted to make a point in the second half that we could stop teams when we want to,” USD sophomore Tyler Cain said. “It was tough for us at first, but once we figured it out, we didn’t have too hard of a time defending them.”
Unlike Wednesday’s game when the Coyotes allowed 61 points to Chadron State in the second half, USD’s performance against Truman State in the game’s final 20 minutes was the team’s best defensive stretch all season, Boots said.
“If you can be a great second half team, that’ll go a long ways toward having a good year,” Boots said. “They didn’t take a lot of shots. It was pretty much one and done on defense.”
The 46 points allowed by USD is the lowest total the team has allowed since last December, when the Coyotes defeated Illinois Tech 98-38.
Tonight at 8 p.m. inside the Dome, the Coyotes face Nebraska-Kearney, who earlier Friday fell to Augustana 97-72. In tonight’s 6 p.m. game, Augustana (2-1) will take on Truman State.
- - Jeremy Hoeck
P.S. Check out Saturday’s Argus Leader sports section. The Volante’s own Vance Janak covered both Friday night games.
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