The Game
The South Dakota Coyotes (10-7) aim for their fourth straight conference win Thursday night at Western Illinois (12-6). The Coyotes and Leathernecks share identical 3-3 Summit records and are tied for fourth in the Summit League standings.
 
The game will be streamed live on goleathernecks.com for free. Fans can tune into the game on the Coyote Sports Network with John Thayer on KVHT 106.3 FM in Yankton/Vermillion or by using The Varsity Network app.
 
The Series
South Dakota holds a 16-9 edge in its series with Western Illinois including a 7-5 mark in Macomb. USD has claimed the last four matchups, including both regular season meetings in Vermillion last year and a quarterfinal win at the Summit League Tournament last March.
 
The Coyotes
USD rolled over Omaha Saturday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center 105-70. Mason Archambault led the way for the Coyotes with a career-high 25 points with 15 of those coming from the free-throw line. Tasos Kamateros and Kruz Perrott-Hunt added in 15 apiece while Keaton Kutcher and Erik Oliver added 11 each off the bench. Kamateros also dropped a career-high in assists with eight on the afternoon. Hunter Goodrick posted his second consecutive double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
 
Perrott-Hunt is averaging 16.3 points per game in Summit League play, which ranks eighth, while Archambault is 14^th with a 14.0 average. Hunter Goodrick has averaged a remarkable 15 boards during this three-game streak and is the second-leading rebounder in the Summit at 8.6 per game.
 
The Leathernecks
Western Illinois has added two difference makers from a year ago who are trying to flip last year's seventh-place finish to one in the upper echelon of the league. Trenton Massner from nearby Wapello, Iowa, is a junior who competed at Northwestern State in Louisiana last season. Luka Barisic is a 6-10 forward from Croatia and a graduate transfer from Texas-San Antonio (UTSA). Those two combined for 59 points in last week's 90-79 overtime win at North Dakota State. The victory got the Leathernecks back to .500 in Summit play with these pivotal home games against South Dakota and South Dakota State (Saturday) on the horizon.
 
One Last Thing
USD's defense has improved since the start of the second half of the season. The Coyotes allow just under 70 points a game, which places them fourth in the conference rankings and will be put to the test this weekend against two of the top-four scoring offenses in the Summit in Western Illinois at St. Thomas (Saturday).