Sargent reaches 1,000-point milestone in SDSU win

Thursday, February 25

Frost Arena

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Western Illinois [Family Fun Night]

Jackrabbits Sweep Season Series with Idaho

2/25/2010 11:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: SDSU Sports Info

South Dakota State junior Clint Sargent sank a free throw with 7:43 remaining in the first half of Thursday's 66-53 win over Western Illinois to become the 41st member of the SDSU 1,000-Point Club.

"I would like to thank my teammates and coaches through the whole experience I've had my three years here. It wouldn't have happened without them. I'm very thankful for all of them," Sargent said about reaching the milestone. "It means a lot just to do it with these guys and coaches and teammates. That's one of the best things about it. Just the group of guys I'm with."

Sargent joins seniors Kai Williams and Garrett Callahan in the SDSU 1,000-Point Club, marking the first time since the 1968-69 season that the Jacks put a trio of 1,000-point scorers on the floor at the same time (John Thomas, Guy Mackner, Gene Zulk).

"They are doing it against the best talent that South Dakota State has ever played against" SDSU head coach Scott Nagy said after the game. "I think that says a lot about how good of players they are."

Sargent went on to finish the game with 15 points, tying with Williams for team-high honors. Williams added a season-high 13 rebounds for his 4th double-double of the season, the 17th of his career.

Griffan Callahan added 11 points in the win, which improves the Jacks record to an even 14-14 overall, 10-7 in Summit League play. The Fighting Leathernecks fall to 13-15 overall, 6-11 in league play.

David Nurse led the Leathernecks with 15 points, Quenton Kirby added 12 points in the loss.

The Jackrabbits opened the game on an 8-0 run and slowly built on that lead until it reached a high of 20 points at 31-11 with 4:24 left in the first half.

The Leathernecks, who closed the half on a 10-2 run, cut the lead to just two points with less than four minutes gone in the second half, but the Jacks never let them get any closer for the rest of the game.

The Jacks win on Thursday locks them into a matchup with IPFW on March 7, in the first round of The Summit League Championships in Sioux Falls, although either team could be the No. 4 or No. 5 seed in the tournament.

Before they look ahead to the conference tournament though, the Jacks turn their attention to IUPUI, who locked up the second overall seed in the tournament with a 66-52 win at North Dakota State on Thursday.

The Jacks and Jaguars tip-off on Senior Night and in the Corduroy Classic on Saturday 7:30 p.m., following the women's game at 5 p.m.