The Game
South Dakota will battle Sam Houston in the Palms Division championship game Wednesday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. (ET) from Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Florida.
 
The game will be live streamed on the host college's website at fswbucs.com. 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
Wednesday's championship game will be the second time the two programs have met. The first matchup ended in a triple-overtime thriller in the 2014 season. Sam Houston outlasted the Coyotes by a final score of 93-85 in triple overtime. The game was the first round of the Coaches vs Cancer Classic in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
 
The Coyotes
USD used a quality second-half performance to down LIU in the opening round of the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Four Coyotes scored in double-figures led by Mason Archambault's 19 points. Tasos Kamateros (13), Paul Bruns (11), and A.J. Plitzuweit (10) all joined the double-digit effort on Tuesday. It was the fourth time this season South Dakota has had multiple players in double-figures. Damani Hayes was all over the floor in that game, grabbing 14 rebounds in 18 minute of play.
 
Through five games, Plitzuweit leads the team with 14.8 points per game on 53 percent shooting. Hayes is the team's leading rebounder with eight rebounds per game while Kruz Perrott-Hunt has dished out a team-best 2.4 assists per game.
 
The Bearkats
In his 12th season with the Bearkats, Jason Hooten has the Bearkats off to a 5-0 start in 2022. Sam Houston has two power five wins this season over Oklahoma and Utah. SHSU was the only Palms Division team to win its matchup against a Beach Division team prior to traveling to Fort Myers. The Bearkats handled Norther Illinois in their first-round game, winning by 34 points and shooting over 50 percent from the floor and three-point line.
 
Not only does Sam Houston average 81 points per game, but they also lock down defensively and allow just 48.2 points per game. They own the fourth-best scoring margin in the country at a 33.6 points difference. The nation's second-best scoring defense averages 11 steals per game and 3.2 blocks per game. The Bearkats offense is run by Qua Grant, a 6-1 senior from DeSoto, Texas. Grant leads the team with 14.4 points per game and has dished out 24 assists through five games. Lamar Wilkerson is the other player averaging double-figures with 10.8 points per game.
 
One Last Thing
South Dakota is looking for its first MTE championship since they won the Rainbow Classic at the beginning of the 2019-20 season. The Coyotes went a perfect 3-0 in the Rainbow Classic.