Coyote’s men drop to 0-2 in Summit League game after loss to Kansas City | SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA

VERMILLION, SD — Kansas City graduate transfer Evan Gilyard II scored 31 points, a season record, and the Roos forced 17 turnovers en route to a 68-57 victory over South Dakota on Wednesday in inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.

The Roos have improved to 6-6 on the season and to 1-1 in Summit play. The Coyotes, 7-6 overall, lost their first two Summit games at home after going 6-0 to Vermillion in a non-conference game.

Gilyard was 9 of 14 in the field, including 5 of 8 at 3 points. He also made 8 of 11 from the free throw line. He more than made up for the absence of leading scorer and rebounder Josiah Allick who missed his second straight game with a back injury.

“We had quick guards in Abmas (Oral Roberts), Cone (Northern Arizona) and Gilyard – it’s a common theme, they all had great nights,” said USD head coach Todd. Lee. “He did some really big hits tonight and hats off to him. “

Gilyard had 20 in the first half and that’s where the game was won. Kansas City had six 3-pointers in the first stanza while South Dakota was 0 for 5. Worse yet, South Dakota made 11 turnovers in the first half against two for the Roos. This happened two nights after the USD committed three against Oral Roberts. The Coyotes managed half of their shots – 8 of 16 – but took 12 less than Kansas City in the first half.

“It’s a team that plays a little differently from everyone else in the league in the way they press and we have turned him around 17 times which is way too much,” said Lee. “They played harder than us, harder than us, which is disappointing. We had to hit the line longer than them, a lot longer than them, and neither did we.

South Dakota were in the bonus before committing their first foul in the first half, but managed 10 of 16 free throws. The Coyotes were 5 of 6 in the second half, but were outdone at the 19-15 line.

Mason Archambault scored 14 points to beat South Dakota but was limited to 24 minutes due to fouls. Tasos Kamateros had nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Xavier Fuller, Kruz Perrott-Hunt and Erik Oliver scored eight points each.

South Dakota is off for a week for the Christmas vacation. The Coyotes return to the field Dec. 30 against North Dakota in Grand Forks.