Wolf Pack falls prey to Jackrabbits

Tuesday, November 30

Frost Arena

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Nevada

11/30/2010 11:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: SDSU Sports Info

The South Dakota State men's basketball team kept its winning streak alive on Tuesday with an 82-65 win over Nevada, as freshman Jordan Dykstra erupted for a career-high 23 points, much to the delight of the 2,027 Frost Arena fans who braved the wind and cold to watch the Jackrabbits improve to 6-0.

Dykstra shot 8-of-12 from the field with a pair of three-pointers in three tries and went 5-for-7 from the free throw line to score his 23 points. Nate Wolters added 14 points and five assists in the win, while Griffan Callahan recorded the Jacks first double-double of the season, and the first of his career, with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

"I thought Griffan was big for us. It's pretty easy to see that he's the heart and soul of this team, and I think it's a testament to how much more important the heart is over talent," SDSU head coach Scott Nagy said about Callhan's effort in the win. "Not that Grif doesn't have talent, because he can shoot, he's got a super-high basketball IQ, but his greatest gift to our team is his toughness, and it's contagious."

Derrell Conner led the Wolf Pack, who fall to 1-5 on the season, with 15 points, only four of which came in the second half.

Nevada took the early lead in the game, but an Aireus Stephenson three-pointer with 12:35 left in the first half put the Jackrabbits up for good at 12-11. The Jacks would steadily increase their lead to as many as 13 points at 41-28 with just under three minutes left in the half before eventually taking a 45-36 lead into the locker room.

SDSU pushed the lead to 14 on two occasions and let Nevada get within nine twice, but the Jacks outscored the Wolf Pack 15-4 over a six minute stretch late in the game to take an 82-62 lead with less than a minute to play.

Nevada's Malik Story hit a late three-pointer, but it came much to late to spark any kind of rally, as Wolters dribbled out the final seconds of the clock.

The Jackrabbits look to make it a perfect 7-0, on Saturday, when they open Summit League play against North Dakota State in Frost Arena at 7:30 p.m., following the NDSU vs. SDSU women's game at 5 p.m.