The Game
South Dakota is set to host Waldorf in the final game of a three-game home stretch for the Coyotes. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion. The game will be streamed on the Summit League Network, available on the Midco Sports Plus app. Fans can also 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 Coyotes
South Dakota (4-3) is hosting game three of its three-game home stretch after being on the road for three of its first six games. The Yotes returned home and defeated Northland College 100-48 on Nov. 22 after claiming a runner-up finish at the inaugural Arizona Tip-Off. South Dakota defeated the Virginia Military Institute in game one 85-81 behind Lahat Thioune's third-straight double-double of the season to advance to the championship game. Max Burchill put up a career-high 18 points in the championship game against former Summit foe Purdue Fort Wayne but a 22-9 run to start the second half boosted the Mastadons past the Coyotes.
 
Kaleb Stewart was named to the Arizona Tip-Off all-tournament team after two double-digit scoring performances. He had 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting in South Dakota's win over VMI and 10 points in the championship game against Purdue Fort Wayne. Stewart had 13 points in just the first half in South Dakota's game against Air Force Nov. 26. He shot 41 percent from the field and 42 percent from three.
 
Thioune has three double-doubles in five games and back-to-back 20+ point performances. He had a career-high 24 points in the Yotes' 100-79 win over UTRGV in the Sanford Pentagon and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds against Air Force.
 
Paul Bruns had a big second half against Air Force, scoring 13 of his 16 total points in the second half and shooting 50 percent from the field and from behind the arc.
 
Isaac Bruns and Jake Brack are two freshmen who both put up career-high numbers in the Coyotes' win over Northland on Nov. 22. Bruns played a career-high 21 minutes and had a career-high 13 points. Brack recorded his first career double-double with career-highs of 13 points and 12 rebounds in a career-high 23 minutes of play.
 
The Warriors
Waldorf (2-5) is led by head coach Nigel Jenkins. Jenkins is entering his 13^th season at the helm for the Warriors. Last season, Jenkins led the Warriors to the semifinals of the NSAA conference tournament. In the 2019-20 season, the Warriors were the NSAA Tournament runners-up.
 
Justin Wiggins and Khyle Washington each put up double-digit scoring performances in that semifinal game. Washington is a NSAA second-team all-conference selection from last season. He's started the last two games and scored in double-figures in both. Wiggins averages 10.3 points per game and has started six of the first seven games for the Warriors.
 
Waldorf has four Warriors averaging double-figures through seven games so far. Khalil Grayson is averaging a team-best 15.6 points off the bench. He made his first start of the season against Dordt (Nov. 4) and had 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting from three.

The Series
Tuesday's game marks the third time these programs are meeting. South Dakota owns a 2-0 record over Waldorf. The first meeting dates back to 2012-13 when the Coyotes defeated the Warriors 84-59 in Vermillion. The most recent meeting was a 93-37 decision in favor of South Dakota inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in the 2021-22 season.
 
One Last Thing
South Dakota has had at least four Yotes score in double-figures in four of the five games this season. Stewart is the lone Coyote with consecutive double-digit scoring games, stringing together six double-digit games in the first six games.