Mike Daum led the Jackrabbits to a much needed Summit League victory over Fort Wayne Saturday, Jan. 21, 77-67.

Daum scored a career-high 42 points and ten rebounds, eclipsed the 1,000-point mark and became the 46th player in school history to become part of the prestigious club. 

“I think everything was just flowing for me today,” Daum said after the game. 

During the Fort Wayne victory, the Jackrabbits shot 42.7 percent on three-pointers, making 17 of 36 attempts. At the free-throw line, the Jackrabbits shot 55 percent.

The Jackrabbits looked strong defensively against Fort Wayne, who entered the game as the top scoring team in the Summit League. Defensively, the Jackrabbits changed up their schemes and used the man-to-man defense and the 1-3-1 zone, instead of using strictly one scheme.

“I don’t think we are a team that’s at a point right now where we can say we are going to completely, solely play one defense,” SDSU Head Coach T.J. Otzelberger said. 

“Obviously, right now, if we can bottle that up and play that way every night, we would only need to play that defense.”  

For the Jackrabbits (9-13, 2-5), they hope this win can carry momentum for the rest of the season, since they’re still at the bottom of the Summit League ranking.

“It’s huge, personally it feels incredible. But as a team, it’s huge for us to get some momentum. It’s obviously been a slow start to league play, but now if we can pick up some momentum it will be beneficial to us in the end and we will be playing our best basketball by March,” A.J. Hess said after the game.

The Jacks will travel to Colorado to take on the Denver Pioneers (12-8, 4-3), who are tied for second place in the Summit League with the South Dakota Coyotes. 

Denver is led by sophomore guard Joe Rosga, averaging 16.1 points per game, which is good for eighth in the Summit League. Daniel Amigo averages 15.3 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game. 

As a team, the Pioneers are the sixth-best scoring team in the Summit League. Defensively, the Pioneers only allow 71.8 points per game and appear to be a stout defense, as they force teams to have a three-point percentage of 33. The Pioneers also boast a five-plus rebound margin.

On offense, Denver is shooting 48 percent on the season and an average of 14 turnovers a game, which is the worst in the Summit League. 

The game starts at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25 at Magness Arena in Denver.