SDSU Men’s Basketball started its season with a win that was not as close as the box score would show. After being down most of the game, Merrimack would have an 11-1 point run to take a 52-47 point lead halfway through the second half. A scoring streak by the Jacks would give them the lead. They held onto their momentum, and SDSU would go on to win their first game of the season, 75-66.
This season saw two former starters lost to the transfer portal and a new head coach in Bryan Peterson. The team showed that despite the losses they suffered, they are going to compete for the Summit League Championship.
Center Oscar Cluff was probably the most impactful player SDSU lost via the portal. He transferred to the top-ranked Purdue Boilermakers, and is the starting center for a team contending to win not just the big-ten, but a national title. Cluff put up huge rebounding numbers, averaging 12.3 a night. His 17.6 points a game scoring average also led the team.
Owen Larson was the team’s best three-point-shooter, averaging 39% from beyond the arc. He averaged 9.2 points a night, and now plays for the Drake Bulldogs with previous SDSU basketball head coach Eric Henderson.
With two impactful players now spending the rest of their careers elsewhere, the team looked to its bench to replenish the roster.
Jaden Jackson slotted into Owen Larson’s guard spot and immediately provided a spark to the offense. He scored a career high 23 points, and went five of eight from three. Last year, Jackson played in all 38 SDSU basketball games while being a starter in four. The now sophomore averaged 6.1, 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game in the 16.8 minutes he averaged per game.
Sophomore center Damon Wilkinson didn’t play in every game last season, but was impactful in the minutes he got. He averaged 4.9 points and 2.4 rebounds a game, while averaging 58.5% efficiency. In his 19 minutes played on Monday, he scored ten points and grabbed nine rebounds. Wilkinson is stepping into the starting position that was previously held by Cluff last season.
Kalen Garry, Matthew Mors and Joe Sayler are returning starters from last season. All three of them got on the scoring sheet against Merrimack, Mors leading the three in scoring with 16 points.
Against Merrimack, the team shot 42.1% from the field and 38.9% from three. Only two Jacks scored on a three point attempt, those being Jackson and Garry. The warriors shot 32.1% from the field and 27.6% from three. SDSU out assisted Merrimack 17-9, and out rebounded them 44-31.
On Thursday, the team will host its first game of the season with the Dakota State Trojans heading up to First Bank & Trust. They are coming off of a 55-43 win of Wisconsin-River Falls. Forward Lukas Morgan led the Trojans in scoring with 13 points, while wing Nathan Ojukwu had 12 rebounds. You can watch the 7 p.m. game on Midco Sports Plus.
