On the Slate The South Dakota men's basketball team starts its final three-game road swing of the 2010-11 regular season by traveling east for two Great West Conference games over the weekend. The Coyotes (11-11, 3-2) square off with Chicago State (6-18, 3-4) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. CT in the Jones Convocation Center in Chicago, Ill., before facing NJIT (9-12, 3-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT in the Fleisher Athletic Center in Newark, N.J.

USD won three-of-four during its last homestand, but is coming off a tough loss to North Dakota and this weekend's two opponents pose tough challenges. The Coyotes are still seeking their first road win of the season, while the Cougars and Highlanders have improved since last season. Both enter the weekend with the same number of conference wins as USD (three), and sit just in front of and behind the Coyotes in the league standings.

Links for live stats and live audio are available on the 2010-11 Basketball Gameday Page on USDCoyotes.com. All USD men's basketball games can be heard on B102.7 FM. The games will not be televised.

Scouting the Opponents First-year head coach Tracy Dildy and the Cougars enter Thursday's contest fifth in the Great West Conference at 3-4 and 6-18 overall. Picked to finish fourth in the preseason coaches' poll, Chicago State is 4-3 at home but has won back-to-back games just once this season. CSU is 3-4 in its last seven contests and lost a 95-50 game at IPFW on Tuesday in its latest action.

Senior forward Carl Montgomery was second-team All-GWC last year and has picked up where he left off. He's averaging a team-high 16.3 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game while being named the GWC player of the week twice. Senior guard Antonio Lofton contributes 10.1 points per game and 40 assists, while sophomore guard Victor Scott has a team-high 40 treys. As a team, Chicago State shoots 40 percent from the field to average 67.3 points, while opponents shoot 47 percent for 88.0 points.

Head coach Jim Engles and the Highlanders were picked to win the GWC in the preseason coaches' poll and are pretty close to matching those expectations. NJIT currently sits third in the league standings at 9-12 overall and 3-1 in the conference. The Highlanders started the season 2-10, but have rebounded to win seven of their last nine games, while their only conference loss came on the road to Utah Valley. NJIT is 7-4 at home this season and claimed a 65-64 home win over Longwood on Saturday in its latest action. NJIT hosts UND on Thursday.

Junior guard Isaiah Wilkerson paces the squad with 13.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Chris Flores, who was second-team All-GWC last season, adds 13.1 points per game to go with 61 assists and 29 steals. Senior guard Jheryl Wilson was also second-team All- GWC last year and is third on the team this year with 12.9 points per game. He has connected on a team-high 39 treys and pulls down 4.8 rebounds per game. As a team, NJIT averages 68.6 points per game on 43 percent from the floor compared to 70.3 points and 43 percent for its opponents. The Highlanders are plus 1.4 in rebounding margin and plus 0.2 in turnover margin.

Coyote History versus the Opponents South Dakota is 3-0 all-time against Chicago State and 2-0 against NJIT, as four of the five meetings came last season. Three of those four victories came by 10 points or less. The Coyotes claimed a 79-74 home win over the Cougars on Feb. 11 thanks to Roman Gentry scoring 11 of his 18 points in the final 1:27, while Tyler Cain posted 19 points and 13 rebounds in a 77-73 road win on Feb. 27 to go over 1,000 career rebounds. Against the Highlanders, USD earned a 68-58 road win on Feb. 25 courtesy of free throws down the stretch from Kendall Cutler. The Coyotes ended the regular season last year with an 83-49 home blowout of NJIT, as Steve Smith eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau.

Last Time Out: South Dakota Drops 83-73 Decision to Border-Rival North Dakota Freshman forward Trevor Gruis recorded his third career double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds, but the South Dakota men's basketball team fell to Great West Conference rival North Dakota 83-73 in front of 2,867 fans on Saturday night in the DakotaDome. The Coyotes (11-11, 3-2) battled from behind all night and cut the lead to two late in the second half, but couldn't over the Sioux (11-10 4-1) down the stretch.

Gruis scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half to go with eight rebounds in the first and six in the second, while shooting 7-of-9 from the field. Four other Coyotes scored in double figures led by junior guard Charlie Westbrook with 15 and sophomore Jake Thomas with 13. Senior guard Kendall Cutler added 12 points and four assists, while junior guard Louie Krogman had 11 points.

USD shot 40 percent (25-of-62) from the field for the game, but made just one three-pointer (1-of-19). UND hit 48 percent (29-of-60) from the floor and 36 percent (4-of-11) beyond the arc to go with a 42-37 rebounding advantage.

The Coyotes stepped up the intensity in the second half after UND built a nine-point lead in the first two minutes. Consecutive baskets by Westbrook and Krogman cut the lead to four, but the Sioux pushed back. Westbrook ignited the Coyotes, as well as the crowd, after a steal by Cutler left him wide-open for a dunk and then added two more points on the next possession. Cutler then stepped up, earning a three-point play and trimming the Sioux-lead to 54-53 with 11:20 to play.

In the remaining 10 minutes of the game, Gruis scored six consecutive points for USD, keeping the Sioux within reach. Strong defensive stands from both squads caused long periods without scoring from either side. In the end, UND sealed the game on free throws and extended the lead to double digits, finishing the game 83-73.

USD shot just 35 percent (12-of-34) in the second half, while UND shot 57 percent (15-of-26). The Coyotes were unable to connect on 11 attempts from behind the arc in the final period and missed six free throws.

In the first half USD scored first on a basket by Gruis, but the two teams exchanged points back and forth before the Sioux took the lead. Staying within three, Gruis made two free throws and a basket by senior forward Mitchell Bouie gave USD a one-point lead with 13:46 remaining in the first half. Gruis scored six of the Coyotes first 14 points and Bouie had four.

After the midway mark of the first half, UND built a six-point lead after a three by Krogman tied the game. The Coyotes charged back and cut the lead to two, as Krogman, Cutler and Thomas all made baskets. In the final minute of the half, Westbrook earned a three-point play and two free throws by Krogman left USD trailing by four, 37-33 at halftime.

Although trailing at halftime, USD shot 48 percent (13-of-27) from the field compared to 41 percent (14-of-34) for UND. Westbrook led the Coyotes with seven points at halftime and Gruis followed with six while also pulling down eight rebounds.

Gruis Grinding It Out Freshman center Trevor Gruis has shown improvement in leaps and bounds in his first year in the USD program, but has recently begun to show consistency also. He posted his third career double-double with a team-high 18 points and 14 rebounds against North Dakota last Saturday. Gruis scored 12 of his points in the second half to help USD claw within two in the tight battle. More importantly, it was his fourth consecutive game scoring in double figures.

Trevor in the NCAA South Dakota isn't officially listed in the NCAA Division basketball stats because it's a transition school, but that hasn't bothered one Coyote. Freshman center Trevor Gruis would rank fifth in the nation in field goal percentage at 61.9 percent. Gruis has hit 86 of his 139 shots this season.

More Sioux After becoming just the second team in the Great West Conference to beat the Coyotes with their win on Jan. 15, North Dakota earned another distinction with last Saturday's win over USD. The loss was South Dakota's first at home in GWC play, as the Coyotes dropped to 9-1 in league play in the DakotaDome. It was also USD's first loss in the month of February since the 2008-09 season.

Next Up The Coyotes conclude their three-game road swing with a contest at Utah Valley in Orem, Utah, on Feb. 17 at 8 p.m.