They might not have had their second-leading scorer in David Jenkins, Jr., but that didn’t slow down the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, who dismantled the Kansas City ‘Roos 75-62.
SDSU (6-2) improved its winning streak in Frost Arena to 24 straight wins, the longest in the country.
“We weren’t going to hang our heads and pout and dwell on the fact that David wasn’t playing [due to a lower-leg injury],” head coach T.J Otzelberger said in a post-game interview. “Obviously he’s a phenomenal player, but it did give some other guys minutes.”
Despite the injury, Jenkins Jr. is expected to be back in the lineup on Saturday, Dec. 1.
The program’s all-time leading scorer, Mike Daum led the way for the Jackrabbits with 26 points. Daum also became the No. 3 scorer in the country with his performance and has scored 195 points this season. Daum also recorded 18 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
Without Jenkins, the Jacks needed offensive production from some of their youth – and they received it.
“… Great to get all five freshmen some quality minutes as well,” Otzelberger said. “The more minutes we get those guys, the more it will pay off.”
True freshman Owen King played 26 minutes and had seven points, six rebounds and two assists. The instant impact from the Caledonia, Minnesota native hasn’t surprised Otzelberger.
“We evaluated with Owen King in the recruiting process that he could come in and be an impact player for us right away,” Otzelberger said.
Redshirt freshman Alex Arians recorded a double-double as well with 10 rebounds and 11 points.
“He made some great plays off the dribble, attacking the basketball,” Otzelberger said. “Obviously, he defended really well, he had some impactful plays, I thought he just really had a complete game.”
Ryan Krueger, who was coming off of a game where he scored a career-high 16 points against Colorado State, had three points, four rebounds and an assist.
It wasn’t just the young guys who got in on the action for the Jacks.
Senior guard Skyler Flatten had 11 points, two steals and an assist. Flatten scored in double digits for the seventh consecutive game.
Tevin King joined Flatten and was the fourth Jackrabbit in double figures with 10 points. King also added five assists and a rebound.
Up next, the Jackrabbits will travel to U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to take on the Panthers of Northern Iowa. That game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 1.
“I think we will have a lot of fans, it should be a great atmosphere to play in the place where the Final Four will be played is a neat opportunity,” Otzelberger said. “Our guys are really excited about it, we are going to do everything we can to make the most of it, it will have an NCAA Tournament feel to that game.”
