South Dakota State heads back to Brookings after beating the University of South Dakota. The Jacks are set to take on Kansas City next before traveling down to Tulsa, Oklahoma to take on the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.
The Jackrabbits currently lead the Summit League with a conference record of 4-1. Following close behind them is St. Thomas and Denver who are both 3-2.
at South Dakota
The Jackrabbits men’s basketball team defeated the South Dakota Coyotes on the road in a crushing 73-55 victory Saturday, Jan. 20.
The Jacks started the game with a 9-2 scoring run before the Coyotes responded with a 6-3 run to keep the game tight. The Jacks would begin to pull away, increasing the lead to 11 after the first 20 minutes.
The Coyotes brought the game close again in the second half, cutting their deficit to just three points twice, first by big three-pointers from Mayuom Buom and Kaleb Stewart, after which Zeke Mayo responded with a three-pointer of his own, and another three-pointer from Max Burchill. It wasn’t long before the Jacks began to pull away with the lead again, surpassing the 15 point mark with just four minutes remaining.
Mayo led the Jacks in scoring with 20 points off four three-pointers, three field goals, and two free throws. Three other Jacks hit double digit points in the game: Charlie Easley with 19, Luke Appel with 12, and William Kyle III with 11. The Jacks were 47.8% on their shots and converted 28.6% of their three-pointers.
For the Coyotes, only one player achieved double-digit points, redshirt freshman forward Jevon Hill with 15. USD relied heavily on their three-pointer game, attempting 32 of them and only making 11 in the process. Hill made five of the team’s three-pointers. The Coyotes went 11-for-32, or 34.4% on their threes, but only made 34.5% of their total shots.
The win bumps up the Jacks to an 11-9 record and they are now 4-1 in Summit League play.
vs. Kansas City
The Jacks return to Frost Arena to host the Kansas City Roos. The Roos enter this contest 8-12, 2-3 in Summit League play and are coming off a close 74-72 win over the Omaha Mavericks.
Junior guard/forward Jamar Brown converted on a layup in the paint with just 12 seconds remaining to give the Roos the lead. They successfully defended their basket as time expired. Guard/forward Cameron Faas dropped a team-high 15 points in the victory as well. He is averaging 11.1 points a game, third-best on the team this season.
Brown leads the Roos in scoring, putting up 13.8 points a game this season. The Roos are 42.2% on all their shots this season.
Tip-off is scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m. The game will be available to watch on CBS Sports Network.
at Oral Roberts
It will be a quick turnaround for the Jacks as they head to Tulsa, Oklahoma to face Oral Roberts. They are 8-10, 2-3 in Summit League play, and will host Omaha Thursday, Jan. 25 before the Jacks visit Mabee Center. Their last game on Saturday ended in a loss to North Dakota State on the road, 72-67.
Graduate guard Kareem Thompson put up a career-high 23 points, while two other Golden Eagles achieved double-digit points. Thompson has converted 40.7% of his shots and 41.3% of his three-pointer attempts this season and is averaging 13.7 points a game.
Senior guard Issac McBride currently leads the team in scoring, averaging more than 20 points a game. McBride has completed 44.1% of his shots and 39.2% of his three-pointers this season.
ORU has had tight games with their average scoring margin this season sitting at just 0.1 points. Six of their 19 games have been decided by five points or less, having the upper hand in three of them.