The Game
South Dakota looks to go 2-0 at home this week with a New Year's Eve matchup against Western Illinois. The Coyotes and Leathernecks will tip-off at 1 p.m. from the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
 
The game will be streamed for free on GoYotes.com. That broadcast can be found on Midco+ as well. 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
Saturday's game will be the 28th time South Dakota and Western Illinois have met. The series dates back to the 1969-70 season and picked back up in the 2011-12 season. USD has won eight of the last 10 meetings including six straight. The last meeting resulted in a 78-65 win for South Dakota in its final home game of the 2021-22 season.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota snapped a four-game losing streak with a 92-84 win over St. Thomas inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Thursday night. It was the first Summit League win for South Dakota and St. Thomas' first Summit League loss. Five Coyotes scored in double-figures in that game led by a season-high 21 points from Tasos Kamateros. South Dakota shot 70 percent from beyond the arc, marking the second-highest three-point percentage in a game in team history. USD knocked down 14-of-20 from the three-point line to outduel the Tommies at their own game.
 
Damani Hayes earned his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the win over St. Thomas. The 11 points tied a career-high for the senior and the 11 rebounds was three shy of tying his career-high in rebounds. His first career double-double came in the previous home game against Coastal Carolina. Hayes registered 10 points and tied a career-high 14 rebounds he set earlier in the season.
 
The Leathernecks
Western Illinois has put a new lineup around senior Trenton Massner who was an all-Summit selection last year and one of the best defensive players in the league. Winona State transfer Alec Rosner has provided instant help with 15 points per game. Though Rosner and Massner are threats from deep, the rest of the lineup is getting it done inside the arc. Jesiah West, Quinlan Bennett, and Vuk Stevanic all shoot better than 50 percent from the field.
 
The Leathernecks are coming off a 71-64 loss to South Dakota State in Brookings on Thursday. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Rob Jeter's squad. Massner was held to 6-of-19 from the field against the Jacks and Western Illinois shot 38 percent as a team.
 
Though Massner leads the team in scoring at 15.9 points per game, fifth-best in the Summit League, he also dishes the ball out well and makes plays for other teammates. The Wapello, Iowa, native leads the Summit and is 16th in the nation with 5.8 assists per game. Of the top-10 games in the Summit in single-game assists, Massner owns five of those performances including a Summit League-best 11 assists at Illinois State in early November. Rosner (15.2), West (11.5), and Quinlan Bennett (10.7) all average double-figures for WIU.
 
One Last Thing
Now at over 40 percent from downtown this season, USD ranks first in the Summit and 11th nationally in three-point percentage. USD is also 22nd in the nation with a 76.4 free-throw percentage and 33rd with 9.2 three-pointers made per game. Those two rank fourth and second, respectively, in the Summit League.