The South Dakota State men’s basketball (6-2) team completed a successful run at the Crossover Classic tournament last week, going 2-1 over the course of three days. 

SDSU picked up wins over Nevada and George Mason and fell to Washington at the tournament.

Hot-shooting got things going for the Jacks as they blew out Nevada 102-75 last Monday night. They shot above 50% from three-point range as they shot 17-of-33 from the field.

Douglas Wilson had a season-high 24 points, with Noah Freidel adding 21 en route to the 27-point victory.

Tuesday night saw the Jacks lose their second game of the season to Washington 87-76. SDSU had a good crowd to back them up as they needed all the help they could get, playing a power-five school. The tournament was played at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

“Our fans showed up and they were loud and proud and were a great atmosphere all three days,” coach Eric Henderson said.

Wilson had his second double-double on the year with 18 points and 12 boards, but they could not get within five points of the Huskies after falling behind early. Terrell Brown Jr. had 32 points, shooting 13-of-18 from the floor for Washington.

The Jacks capped off the tournament with a win over the Patriots of George Mason. The game went back-and-forth throughout as each team took leads of at least seven before the Jacks closed it out, winning 80-76. 

Freidel had another strong showing as he finished with 25 points, scoring at least 20 in all three games. He was named to the Crossover Classic All-Tournament Team after the game. He was also named Summit League Player of the Week.

“Our guys understand when you have a hot hand, we need to feed it,” Henderson said. “Noah’s playing very well, and he is getting more and more consistent on the defensive end.”

Looking ahead to this week, the Jacks return to Frost Arena for two games, with Prairie View A&M and Minnesota Morris coming to town. 

Prairie View A&M is 0-7 so far this season but has been involved in some close finishes. The Cougars of Minnesota Morris are 3-4 this season and are a Division III program. Both games are at 7 p.m.

“We got exposed in some areas last week and we need to continue to get better. Prairie View A&M is going to expose some things too. They create havoc on the defensive end and are top ten in the country at creating turnovers.”