First Bank & Trust Arena is a tough place to play for opponents.
On a frigid February night in Brookings, over 3,800 fans piled into FB&T Arena to see the South Dakota State men’s basketball team light up the stat sheet to knock off the No. 1 seeded Omaha Mavericks 98-85.
The last time the Jacks (17-9, 8-3 Summit) were in action eight days ago, they took down and avenged a prior loss to the No. 2 seeded St. Thomas. A week later, against an opponent of that same caliber, SDSU runs it back on the Mavericks for a huge win.
And while the goal of a Summit League championship is still in the hunt, Jackrabbit head coach Eric Henderson still preaches that no win is bigger than the next.
“It was needed, I know that. But we just try to enjoy the moment,” said coach Henderson. “We try not to make anything bigger than it is. It’s a game. We love to compete. We needed it; there’s no doubt if we want to stay in the race.”
The Jacks shot over 55% from the field in the win, hitting 10-of-20 attempts from three-point range, but a team like Omaha wasn’t going down without a fight.
For much of the first half, neither team gained an upper hand on the other. As the first winded down, though, it turned into a game of streaks.
The Jacks went on a 12-2 run and, after two Damon Wilkinson free throws, got up by as much as 13 points with under 2:30 to play in the half. But Omaha went on a 10-0 run of their own to cut the lead to three at the break.
Despite a one-possession game at the half, the Mavericks never once held a lead in the final 20 minutes, and a big reason was redshirt freshman guard Joe Sayler, who dropped all 19 of his points in the second half, shooting 5-for-6 from the floor and 75% from beyond the arc.
“We went on a run in the first half and I think we kind of got loose with the ball and had a couple of turnovers that led to easy buckets for them,” said SDSU redshirt freshman guard Joe Sayler. “At the end of the day, we knew basketball was a game of runs.”
Even as a team, it would’ve been tough to keep up with the Jacks’ shooting pace in the second half. SDSU shot 61.5% from the field in the final 20 minutes, turning the ball over just five times as well.
On the other side of the court, the Mavericks shooting dropped from 54.8% in the opening half to just 38% in the second.
I think it starts on the other side of the floor,” Sayler said of the Jacks’ offensive efficiency. “I think when we get stops, we’re really good offensively. We can play with a lot of flow and we’ve got great weapons.”
One of those weapons, senior Oscar Cluff, just so happens to be a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given to the best Center in college basketball. Cluff added another excellent performance to his resume, finishing with 25 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and two steals.
“I think the more they focus on me is better for everyone else on our team,” said Cluff. “Because if they worry about me too much, I’m going to trust literally anyone on the team to make a three or to get a bucket.”
Owen Larson had a huge scoring night again for the Jacks, adding 18 points, three rebounds and three assists. Kalen Garry collected 12 points and three rebounds, while Wilkinson tallied 10 points and three rebounds as well.
Up Next
The men’s basketball team will hit the road this weekend to take on in-state rival South Dakota in the second matchup of the Interstate Series. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. and can be watched on the CBS Sports Network.
