The GameSouth Dakota begins a three-game homestand tonight against the Fort Wayne Mastodons in a 7:05 p.m. tip inside the DakotaDome. Fort Wayne is one of three teams atop the Summit League standings with a 7-2 record. The Mastodons have won their last two including an 88-67 win at home against Western Illinois Sunday. The Coyotes last played Saturday in Omaha and tonight is looking to end a three-game skid.
Fort Wayne won the first game of this year's series 85-65 in Fort Wayne back on Jan. 6. Mo Evans scored a game-high 20 points and handed out nine assists to lead the 'Dons. But Fort Wayne lost Evans for the season shortly thereafter and are 4-2 without him. Evans was averaging 17 points a contest while leading the team in assists.
The SeriesFort Wayne leads the series 6-4 following the win earlier this year. The teams split their regular season series a year ago with each team winning on the other's home court. The Coyotes also scored a Summit League Tournament win against Fort Wayne last March.
The MastodonsFort Wayne is one of the best long-range shooting teams in the nation. The 'Dons currently rank 10th nationally in both made 3-pointers (they average 10 per game) and 3-point percentage at 41 percent. Senior guard Max Landis leads the team with nearly 18 points per game and has made 80 triples this season. Redshirt freshman John Konchar, the league's top rebounder with nearly nine per game, leads the Summit with eight double doubles.
The CoyotesSouth Dakota has lost six of its last seven entering its only three-game homestand of the season. Four USD players are averaging double figures in Summit play including top scorer
Casey Kasperbauer. Reserve forward
Tyler Flack has been the team's third-leading scorer in the last four games. Sophomore guard
D.J. Davis has reached double figures in four straight and is the Summit's second-most accurate shooter at 59 percent.
One Final NoteSouth Dakota Head Coach
Craig Smith is going for his 100th collegiate coaching victory.
