The Game
South Dakota's California trip comes to a close at San Diego on Thursday night as the Coyotes face the Toreros at 9 p.m. (CT) inside Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
The game will be available on ESPN+. Fans can also tune into the game on the Coyote Sports Network with John Thayer on KVHT 106.3 FM in Yankton/Vermillion, KQSF 95.7 in Sioux Falls, or by using the Varsity Network app.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota (7-5) is looking to bring home a win from the California trip after dropping the first two games of the trip to UC Irvine and CSU Bakersfield.
 
Junior transfer Kaleb Stewart is back in the starting lineup after a lower leg injury against Air Force on Nov. 26 put him on the bench. Stewart came off the bench against UC Irvine on Dec. 16 and had six points in 21 minutes. He made his return to the starting lineup on Tuesday at CSU Bakersfield and had a team-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field in 24 minutes of action. He had started all seven games for the Yotes and was averaging 13.9 points before the injury.
 
Senior transfer Lahat Thioune is the Coyotes' leading scorer and rebounder at 14.2 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game. Thioune leads the Summit with four double-doubles so far this season and has scored in double-figures in eight games. Thioune also leads the league in all four rebounding categories: rebounds (98), defensive rebounds per game (6.0), offensive rebounds per game (2.9), and rebounds per game (8.9).
 
The Toreros  
San Diego (8-4) is hoping to remain undefeated at home after winning seven-straight inside the Jenny Craig Pavilion so far this season.
 
Deuce Turner, a transfer from Bucknell University a season ago, is San Diego's leading scorer despite coming off the bench, averaging 14.1 points per game. Turner has recorded double-digit points in 10 of the Torero's first 12 games this season and leads the Toreros with 24 made three pointers.
 
PJ Hayes is a senior forward who transferred to San Diego after three seasons at Black Hills State in South Dakota. Hayes is second on the team in points per game at 9.3 and recorded a career-high 23 points with five triples to help the Toreros defeated Arizona State on Dec. 9.
 
The Toreros feature a deep bench, utilizing six different starting lineups and 10 different second-half starting lineups through 12 games so far this season.  
 
The Series
Thursday's matchup marks the first time the Coyotes and Toreros have met. The last time San Diego faced a Summit League team was 2015 when the Toreros hosted Denver. The Pioneers lost by 12 in San Diego.
 
One Last Thing
Saturday's game at San Diego marks the conclusion of South Dakota's California trip but not the end of the road stand. The Coyotes start Summit play on the road at North Dakota State on Dec. 29. South Dakota returns home for the first time since Dec. 9 to host Omaha on Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.