The Jacks reclaim sole possession of first place in the Summit League standings after taking down Oral Roberts 83-72 on Saturday.
South Dakota State(14-11, 7-3 Summit) is now just 0.5 games ahead of North Dakota(15-11, 7-4 Summit) with two tough road matchups coming up this week against Kansas City and Omaha.
Oral Roberts
The Jacks had just one game this past week against the Golden Eagles, giving them ample time to prepare and avenge a loss to ORU just two weeks prior.
The biggest difference between that loss and the game Saturday was location, and Frost Arena is one of the toughest places to play in the country.
Combine that with nearly 3,500 of the Jackrabbit faithful in attendance, going for the conference sweep of the Yellow and Blue is a near impossible task.
ORU was able to silence the crowd in the early going, jumping out to an 18-7 lead in the first eight minutes of the game.
But the early struggles by the Jacks were quickly fixed, and managed to go into halftime with a six-point lead, outscoring the Golden Eagles 36-19 over the final 12 minutes of the first half.
From then on, the Jacks were able to maintain a lead or tie for the majority of the second half, and pulled away late to knock off the Golden Eagles 83-72.
Oddly enough, the only five players to score for the Jacks in this game were the five players who started the game, with four combining for 79 of the teams 83 total points.
Luke Appel finished with 25 points on 10-16 shooting from the field, Zeke mayo poured in 19 on 3-6 shooting from beyond the arc, and William Kyle recorded his second consecutive double-double, finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Charlie Easley also had a career night, scoring 18 points on just nine shot attempts, while also adding five rebounds, a season-high five assists, five steals, and a block.
Kansas City
The first of two road games this week sees round two of the Jacks taking on the Roos, this time in Missouri
The Roos come into this matchup as part of a four-way tie for fifth place in the Summit League with a 5-6 conference record, but are just 2.5 games behind the No. 1 seeded Jacks.
For Kansas City, the biggest struggle this season has been scoring, the Roos are the lowest scoring team in the Summit League averaging 72.5 points per conference game.
On the flipside, their defense is second in points allowed at just 71.5 per game, and they will have their hands full against the Jacks who are the second most productive offense in the Summit at 78 points per game.
The Roos are led by Jamar Brown, the 6-foot-5 junior guard averages 15 points a game in conference play.
The No. 2 scoring option in Summit play has been Khristion Courseault. The graduate student averages just over 11 points per contest on 47% shooting beyond the arc.
Tip-off tomorrow is slated for 7 p.m, and can be watched on the Summit League Network through Midco Sports Plus.
Omaha
On the way back from Kansas City the Jacks will take a pit stop in Omaha to take on the Mavericks.
Like the Roos, the Mavericks are also part of that four-way tie for fifth in a log jammed Summit League.
The Mavericks score an average of 78.6 points per conference game and give up an average of 77.6 points on defense.
Frankie Fidler has been a huge factor in the Mavericks scoring, in 11 conference games Fidler averages over 24 points, six rebounds, and three assists, including 42% shooting beyond the arc.
Behind him, Marquel Sutton averaging over 15 points and seven rebounds on 53% shooting in that same stretch.
Omaha played well against the Jacks in their first matchup nearly a month ago in Brookings, but fell short 90-87 in a high scoring affair.
Tip-off inside Baxter Arena on Saturday is set for 7 p.m, and can be watched on the Summit League Network through Midco Sports Plus.
