by Bryan Boettcher, USD Sports Information
VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota held Bellarmine without a field goal for eight minutes in the middle of the second half and that was the difference in a 78-64 Coyote victory Wednesday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
South Dakota improved to 6-0 at home this season and finished non-conference play with a 7-4 mark. The Coyotes host Oral Roberts Monday and Kansas City next Wednesday to open the Summit League slate.
Bellarmine, a recent Division II powerhouse that is in year two of a transition to Division I, fell to 5-7. The Knights placed second in the ASUN last year to start their transition. They have faced nationally-ranked Gonzaga, UCLA and Purdue in non-conference play.
Xavier Fuller scored 20 points for the second game in a row to lead South Dakota while Kruz Perrott-Hunt added 19 and Mason Archambault (Standing Rock Sioux) netted 12. Dylan Penn and C.J. Fleming led the Knights with 19 and 16 points, respectively.
Both teams shot above 50 percent in the first half and Bellarmine had a 38-35 edge at the break. The Knights were 5-of-9 from downtown in the opening stanza while the Coyotes were 4-of-9.
