The South Dakota men’s basketball team held off Denver 91-84 to earn its first conference win of the season.

The Coyotes held a six-point lead at halftime and outscored the Pioneers by one in the second half to extend their lead to seven.

USD built their lead in the first half with their aggression driving to the rim. The Coyotes were outshot from deep but their consistent penetration led to 23 first-half free throws. South Dakota converted 16 of those while the Pioneers made only three of 10. USD ended up plus-17 in the free throw battle.

The Coyotes only outrebounded Denver by one but managed to outscore the Pioneers in second-chance points by five. They also outscored Denver by six points in the paint. The Pioneers committed four more turnovers than South Dakota but the Coyotes took advantage of the turnovers they forced, outscoring Denver in points off turnovers by six.

The Coyotes were led by Isaac Bruns and Chase Forte who each scored over 20 points. Bruns finished with 21 points on 5-for-9 shooting and was 11-for-14 from the charity stripe. He also had two steals and five rebounds. Forte ended with a game-high 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting. The guard also corralled seven rebounds and had two steals.

The South Dakota men’s basketball team will travel to Minnesota to face St. Thomas on Saturday, Jan. 11.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have another addition for the 2025 season via the NCAA transfer portal.

Former South Dakota State defensive lineman Bryce Hawthorne announced his pledge to the Hawkeyes on Saturday afternoon with an Instagram post.

Hawthorne appeared in 14 games for the Jackrabbits during the 2024 FCS season, tallying 22 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks and a pair of quarterback hurries.

A native of Osseo, Minn., the 6-foot-3, 285 pound defensive tackle joins Iowa with three seasons of eligibility remaining. After appearing in just three games and redshirting during the 2023 campaign, Hawthorne burst onto the scene for the Jackrabbits this year.

Hawthorne was named to FCS Football Central’s freshman All-American team for his efforts at SDSU in 2024.

Hawthorne arrives as part of a defensive tackle rotation that features returnees Aaron Graves and Jeremiah Pittman. That duo combined for 49 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and six sacks during the 2024 regular season.

With Yahya Black exhausting his eligibility, Iowa wanted more interior defensive line help. The Hawkeyes have found it with the addition of Hawthorne and former Central Michigan defensive tackle Jonah Pace.

During the 2024 season with Central Michigan, Pace totaled 34 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six quarterback hurries, four sacks, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one blocked kick. According to Pro Football Focus, Pace had 20 total pressures a season ago.

Iowa is also set to bring back Will Hubert and Luke Gaffney in its defensive interior.

Hawthorne joins former Auburn quarterback Hank Brown and Pace among Iowa’s transfer portal additions thus far entering the 2025 college football season.

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