Lynn Stoneburner

The SDSU men’s basketball team dominated the Augustana Vikings in every facet of the game last Thursday night in Sioux Falls winning 83-50.

Although Augustana led early in the game, the Jacks took control on a three pointer by Luke Geiver, pushing the score to 16-14. The lead expanded to 43-24 at the half.

SDSU exploded in the second half, increasing the lead to 22 with just under 12 minutes remaining in the game.

The Jacks played precision basketball, hitting 55.2 percent from the field, while Augustana was held to 28.8 percent and a season-low 50 points.

“Coach has really been emphasizing defense in practice. In the Augie game we got the shots off on offense, then got back and played good defense,” Jared DeJong said.

Senior guard Austin Hansen led the Jackrabbits in the victory with 23 points and 8 rebounds. Calvin Melaney added 13 points. Chris Stoebner finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds. DeJong grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and added 8 points.

The Jacks dominated the boards, 51-26.

SDSU improved to 16-3 for the season and 6-2 in conference play. Augustana fell to 10-9 overall and 1-7 in the NCC. The Jacks remain in second place in the conference race, right behind St. Cloud