Men begin Summit League play Sunday

Sunday, December 29

Omaha, Neb.

4:30 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Omaha

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

12/27/2019 9:49:00 AM | Men's Basketball

GAME 16: South Dakota State (9-6) at Omaha (7-8)

When	Sunday, Dec. 29 \| 4:30 p.m.
Where	Baxter Arena \| Omaha, Neb.
Live Audio / Radio	Jackrabbits All-Access \| Jackrabbit Sports Network I 104.1 FM \| Tyler Merriam
Television / Live Video	Midco Sports Network \| Cox 1013 \| ESPN+ \| Donny Baarns & Kyler Erickson
Live Stats	OMavs.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

Previewing the Game
South Dakota State begins Summit League play Sunday at Omaha, traveling South on Interstate 29 for a doubleheader at Baxter Arena. Tip is set for 4:30 p.m., or 30 minutes after the women's game concludes.

The Jackrabbits (9-6) wrapped up nonleague play with three-straight wins before the Christmas break. Omaha (7-8) is 2-1 in its last three games, picking up an 87-82 overtime victory against Montana Dec. 21.

Both teams are unbeaten at home, with Omaha winning all six of its games at Baxter Arena, and the Jackrabbits posting an 8-0 record at Frost Arena so far in 2019-20.

The Jackrabbits are 58-34 all-time against the Mavericks and 23-18 in Omaha, Nebraska. SDSU will look to flip the script from the last matchup between the teams, when (now-graduated) Mitch Hahn hit a last-second jumper for an 85-84 win. Prior to that, the Jacks had won five consecutive in the series.

About South Dakota State
Fresh off securing a winning nonleague record for the third-straight season, the Jackrabbits open Summit League play looking to build on the growth seen in head coach Eric Henderson's first two months at the helm.

South Dakota State has blended seven newcomers and nine underclassman into a roster with six returning letterwinners, framing together a defensive unit that has held opponents to 68.9 points per game. The Jacks have limited opponents to under 60 in six games, including the last three against Nebraska-Kearney, Florida Gulf Coast and Idaho.

Offensively, the Jackrabbits are shooting 45.3 percent with 103 3-pointers, third-most among Summit League teams. SDSU has buried 211 of its 306 free throw efforts and is 9-1 in games where it shoots more free throws than its opponent.

Douglas Wilson is the lone Jackrabbit to average double figures at 16.7 points per game, scoring 10 or more in 13 games. The Des Moines, Iowa native has four 20-plus scoring performances and three double-doubles. Wilson, who also leads the team with 6.9 rebounds per game, is second among Summit League scorers. The two-time NJCAA All-American and 2018-19 NJCAA Player of the Year is shooting 61.3 percent from the field and 66.2 percent at the line, including a 25-for-33 (75.8 percent) run over the last seven games.

Matt Dentlinger has turned in a trio of double-doubles, most recently in a 12-point, 10-board performance against Idaho. Dentlinger is second on the team with 9.9 points 6.1 rebounds per game. A 54.9 percent shooter, Dentlinger put together a run of 13 consecutive makes between the Arizona, Mississippi Valley State and Samford contests (going 8-for-8 against MVSU).

Brandon Key (9.2 points per game) has been a catalyst at the point, posting four or more assists in 11 games, including five straight entering league action. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin guard has six double-digit scoring games with 71 total assists, dishing 4.7 per contest. Key holds a 1.6 assist-to-turnover mark and is back for the Jackrabbits after redshirting a year ago. He had 112 assists in 2017-18.

Alex Arians (25.2 minutes per game) and Noah Freidel (22.5 minutes per game) join the three Jackrabbits above as the primary starters, though David Wingett started the final two nonconference games and made the most of the opportunity, posting 12 points in both contests.

Arians' 7.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game provide a steady-presence in the three-spot, tallying double figures in the three of the last four games (15 against Idaho, 16 versus Nebraska-Kearney and 10 at Colorado State).

Freidel, the 2019 Argus Leader Class A Player of the Year, sits sixth on the team in scoring (7.3 points per game) and is second in made 3-pointers (22). He has reached double figures in five games, burying five 3-pointers in a win over Samford with a 20-point effort.

Wingett (8.0 ppg) has a Jackrabbit-best 27 3-pointers, burying two or more from deep in eight contests. The Winnebago, Nebraska native is one of five Jackrabbits with double-digit steals (12), sitting third in swipes behind Key (16) and Arians (15).

Baylor Scheierman has 10 3-pointers and 24 assists in his first collegiate season, averaging 6.5 points over 18.9 minutes per contest. The Aurora, Nebraska guard has also pulled down 4.4 boards on average, helping SDSU to a plus-4.7 rebounding margin through 15 games at 40 rebounds per game.

About Omaha
Omaha navigated a challenging nonleague schedule through two months of the season, winning five of its first eight, including a road win at Washington State before fighting a four-game losing streak in early December.

The Mavericks are led by a trio of double-figure scorers: JT Gibson (14.1 points per game), KJ Robinson (13.0 ppg) and Matt Pile (11.9 ppg). Pile has added a nation-leading 161 rebounds (10.7 per contest) with six double-doubles.

Gibson leads the Mavs with 29 3-pointers, while Robinson (21 3s) and Ayo Akinwole (17 3s) round out the top threats from deep.

Omaha is minus-0.4 and minus-4.3 in rebounding and scoring margins, respectively, though a .445 field goal percentage is fourth-best in the Summit League through two months.

Derrin Hansen is in his 15th season leading the Mavericks. The Summit League's winningest active coach is 234-207 at Omaha.

A South Dakota State Win Would ...
Make SDSU 10-6 on the year and 59-34 all-time against Omaha ... hand State its first league win of the year and move the Jacks to 8-5 in Summit League openers ... give SDSU a 1,545-1,046-1 program mark.

A South Dakota State Loss Would ...
Drop the Jackrabbits to 9-7 on the year and 0-1 in Summit League play ... snap a three-game winning streak and move SDSU to 7-6 in Summit League openers ... make the Jacks 58-35 all-time against Omaha with two-straight losses to the Mavericks ... give the Jacks a 1,544-1,047-1 program mark.

Wilson Honored by Summit League
Douglas Wilson was selected as the Summit League's Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week, announced Nov. 11.

Wilson posted a monster debut week for the Jackrabbits, averaging 21 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest with a trio of double-figure scoring performances. Wilson helped SDSU to a 3-0 record to begin the year, scoring 24, 13 and 26 against UTRGV, Peru State and CSU Bakersfield, respectively. Wilson tallied his first-career double-double in the win over CSU Bakersfield with a game-high 13 rebounds.

On the Line
The Jackrabbits have seen a trend develop through 15 games of its 2019-20 schedule related to the free throw line.

Though SDSU is shooting just 69 percent as a team at the charity stripe, the Jackrabbits are 9-1 in games where they attempt more free throws than their opponent. Additionally, State is winless in the five games where opponents get to the line more.

SDSU has held opponents to single-digit attempts three times this season, including back-to-back games against Nebraska-Kearney (four attempts) and Florida Gulf Coast (eight attempts).

Basketball Coaches Show Returns Dec. 30
The Jackrabbit Basketball Coaches Show returns to Cubby's Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Brookings on Dec. 30. The hour-long show covering the 2019-20 basketball season tips off every Monday at 6 p.m. through March 2.

Hosted by Tyler Merriam, the weekly look at the South Dakota State basketball teams features interviews with head men's coach Eric Henderson and head women's coach Aaron Johnston, as well as segments with Jackrabbit student-athletes and members of the coaching staff.
Fans can attend in person and will be eligible for weekly drawings.

The show also airs live on flagship radio station WNAX 570 AM and Jackrabbit Sports Network affiliates, and can be heard live or on-demand for free via Jackrabbits All-Access and the Jackrabbit App.

New Faces, New Roles
South Dakota State's lineup will feature new roles and new faces throughout the season, as the Jackrabbits return only 16.9 percent of their scoring from 2018-19, and 10.7 percent of their 3-point makes. SDSU's 15.8 points per game returning ranks sixth-lowest nationally, and the 16.9 percent back is the third-lowest margin (according to available records).

#FearFrost

The Jacks own a 111-6 record at Frost Arena over the last seven seasons dating back to 2011-12, which includes perfect home records in five of the last seven years. That span includes two home winning streaks of 30 or more games and three of 25 or more.
The Jackrabbits' current home winning streak of 15 games is tied for fifth-longest in NCAA Division I.
Since 2011-12, South Dakota State has won 94.9 percent of its home games, a mark that top all Division I programs in that span. South Dakota State won 34 consecutive games from Jan. 30, 2014 to Dec. 28, 2016. It ended as the nation's second-longest active streak.
The Jackrabbits won 30 consecutive home games from Jan. 29, 2011 to Nov. 14, 2013.
SDSU won 26 consecutive home games from Dec. 31, 2016 to Dec. 22, 2018.
South Dakota State won 34 consecutive home nonconference games inside Frost Arena from Dec. 31, 2016 to Dec. 22, 2018. That mark was the fourth-longest active streak when it ended.
SDSU put together undefeated seasons inside Frost Arena the following years: 1984-85 (18-0), 2002-03 (17-0), 2011-12 (14-0), 2012-13 (13-0), 2014-15 (13-0), 2015-16 (12-0) and 2017-18 (15-0).

Quick Hits

The Jackrabbits have trailed for less than one minute in five games this season, including three straight to end nonleague play.
SDSU is first nationally with 600 rebounds on the year, tallying 40 or more boards in eight games.
The Jackrabbits sit sixth in free throw attempts and 18th in charity stripe makes through Dec. 26.
Brandon Key's 71 assists puts him second in the Summit League and ranking 27th nationally.
Douglas Wilson is seventh nationally with 100 field goals this season, ranking 21st in field goal percentage and 25th in total points.
South Dakota State has played five games against opponents this year it had not previously met.
The Jackrabbits held Mississippi Valley State to 17 first-half points on Nov. 24, 2019. That is the fewest since South Dakota State held Chadron State to 12 first-half points on Nov. 24, 2014.
SDSU's 93-91 victory over CSU Bakersfield saw five Jackrabbits reach double figures for the first time in 2019-20. The feat last happened Jan. 31, 2019 against Oral Roberts.
State posted back-to-back 50-rebound games to open the season. The last time an SDSU program had 50-plus rebounds in consecutive games was Dec. 15 and 27, 2002 against Finlandia (60) and Fort Lewis (58). The Jacks also had three-straight games with 50-plus rebounds that season: Nov. 23, 29 and 30.
Douglas Wilson's 24 points on Nov. 5 are the most in a Jackrabbit debut dating back to 2000-01, when game-by-game statistics were readily available.
SDSU went 13-0 when holding opponents under 70 points last season (11-9 when not) and scored 70-plus points in 32 of 33 contests. The Jackrabbits were 12-0 when holding opponents under 70 points in 2017-18. The Jacks have accomplished the feat seven times this year and are 6-1 in those contests, with the lone loss coming at Indiana.
At least one Jackrabbit has scored in double figures over the last 389 games dating back to Jan. 12, 2008 at IUPUI when Anthony Cordova had nine points to lead the Jacks.
State has made at least one 3-pointer in 419 consecutive games. The last time the Jackrabbits did not make a 3-point field goal was Jan. 25, 2007
South Dakota State is 94-18 all-time in home openers (where records available). Dating back to 2004-05, SDSU's first year of DI transition, the Jacks are 12-4 in those games.
SDSU is 75-39 in season-openers all-time. The Jacks are 8-8 in season-opening games at the Division I level. The Jackrabbits are 7-5 in Summit League openers.

State Adds Two on National Signing Day
South Dakota State men's basketball announced a pair of signees on National Signing Day, with William Mfum and Noah King set to join the Jackrabbits in fall 2020.

William Mfum enters his senior campaign at Spring Creek Academy (Plano, Texas) on a high note, earning All-Texas Christian Athletic League and All-City First Team honors as a junior. Mfum averaged 19.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in 2018-19, burying 34 3-pointers and hitting 47 percent from the field. The 6-2 guard scored 20 or more points in nine games a year ago and had one double-double. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Mfum is the son of Stella Nyarko and Seth Adjei and plans to major in business management.

Noah King averaged 19 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game as a junior, helping his team reach the section 1AA semifinals. The 6-2 guard has scored over 1,900 points in his prep career and is closing in on the school's all-time scoring record. King also led Caledonia's football team to a state championship in 2018 and 2019. The younger brother of current Jackrabbit Owen King, Noah hails from Caledonia, Minnesota and is the son of Brad and Susan King. He is undecided on his major.

Jackrabbits in Two Scheduling Agreements
Summit League teams are in year two of scheduling agreements with the Western Athletic Conference and Big Sky, and this year claimed a 5-3 win in the WAC series.

The Jackrabbits took on Grand Canyon last year in the first year of the Summit League/WAC challenge, defeating the Lopes in the 2018-19 season opener. Year two of the challenge sent SDSU to face CSU Bakersfield Nov. 9, where the Jacks claimed a 93-91 double-overtime win.

The scheduling agreement with the Big Sky is a four-year contract. The Jackrabbits will play the following games as part of the deal:

2018-19: Montana (home; L, 74-85), Eastern Washington (away; W, 74-64)
2019-20: Idaho (home; W, 85-57), Montana State (away; L, 70-77)
2020-21: Eastern Washington (home), Montana (away)
2021-22: Montana State (home), Idaho (away)

Tough Tests
South Dakota State played four Power Five (ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, PAC-12) opponents in the 2019-20 nonleague season, facing USC, Nebraska, Arizona and Indiana in November. Though the Jacks went winless in those games, they led for a majority of the contest at Arizona, and held Indiana (a top-10 scoring offense) to a season-low 64 points.

South Dakota State has seven wins over Power Five programs since joining The Summit League in 2007, picking up victories over Iowa State (2008), Iowa (2010 and 2017), Washington (2011), TCU (2015), Minnesota (2015) and Ole Miss (2017).

SDSU's wins over Iowa and Ole Miss in 2017-18 came in the shortest time frame of any Summit League team since 1998 (seven days). The Jackrabbits are the fifth league team to post a win over separate Power Five conferences in the same regular season, and the first to do it since 2009.

Jacks Picked Fifth in Preseason Poll
South Dakota State men's basketball earned two first-place votes and was tabbed fifth in the 2019-20 Summit League men's basketball preseason poll, released in October.

The poll is voted on by league coaches, sports information directors and select media.

Jackrabbits' Last Time Out
South Dakota State men's basketball claimed its third-consecutive win Saturday at Frost Arena, topping Idaho 85-57 to wrap up nonleague play.

The Jackrabbits (9-6) had four players with double-digit scoring performances, led by Douglas Wilson's 18. Alex Arians scored 15, going 6-of-8 from the field, and David Wingett tallied 12 with a trio of 3-pointers.

Matt Dentlinger collected his third career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. Arians just missed a double-double of his own in a nine-rebound and three-assist performance, adding a career-high five steals.

SDSU shot 48.4 percent from the field with a season-high 11 3-pointers from eight different Jackrabbits.

The Jacks also scooped a season-high 10 steals, turning 18 Idaho turnovers into a 29-4 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Jackrabbits came out firing from deep, burying five of their first six 3-point attempts while building a 22-13 lead at the under-12 media. SDSU stretched its lead into double figures soon after, and a 9-2 run late in the half helped State go to the locker room with a 43-31 halftime lead.

A 9-2 run out of the locker room pushed the Jackrabbit lead to 52-33 at the 16-minute mark. SDSU played add-on, taking its first 20-point lead of the day (58-38) at 12:09 on a Dentlinger layup.

Idaho cut it to 17 with a scoring burst midway through the half, but would come no closer as South Dakota answered with a 20-6 scoring burst of its own. Wilson had a pair of fast-break layups and a dunk during the spurt, and the Jackrabbits finished the game with consecutive 3-pointers from Owen King, Alou Dillon and Beau Brown.

Opponent Last Time Out
OMAHA, Neb. -- After a clutch JT Gibson three sent the game to a bonus period, the Omaha men's basketball team outlasted Montana 87-82 in overtime Saturday afternoon at Baxter Arena. With their 12th straight home win, the Mavericks improve to 7-8 to close out non-conference play, while the Grizzlies drop to 4-7.

The Mavericks' senior duo of Gibson and KJ Robinson stepped up to lead the way in the scoring column. Robinson, playing in his 100th career game, finished with a season-high 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting with three 3-pointers. Gibson had 22 points, including the game-tying three to send it to overtime.

Matt Pile put up his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and a career-high 16 rebounds alongside a season-high four blocks.

Zach Thornhill narrowly missed a double-double of his own, posting 16 points and nine rebounds while hitting a perfect 8-of-8 at the stripe.

Sayeed Pridgett was a force for the Grizzlies, finishing with a game-high 32 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Josh Vazquez (14), Yagizhan Selcuk (14) and Kyle Owens (12) also scored in double figures.

Even with a dismal first-half start, Omaha outshot Montana 43.1% (25-of-58) to 40.8% (29-of-71). The Mavericks also outrebounded the Grizzlies 51-34.

Montana limited itself to just seven turnovers for the day, while Omaha committed a season-high 20 miscues, leading to 19 points.

Neither team shot well to start, as Montana was 0-of-8 from the floor and Omaha 1-of-7 at the first media timeout. Turnovers plagued the Mavericks early, as they committed seven in the first five and a half minutes of play.

After a Thornhill three put Omaha ahead 22-16, Montana quickly erased the lead when Vazquez canned back-to-back triples to knot it with 4:26 left. The score locked again three more times before the break, but a final 5-0 spurt capped with a Robinson corner three at the buzzer put the Mavericks up 37-32.

Omaha shot 35.7% (10-of-28) in the opening stanza with 10 points from Robinson, another nine from Gibson and seven points, 10 boards and four blocks from Pile.

The Mavericks fired at an improved 52.0% (13-of-25) for the half, led by 13 points from Gibson, who was 5-of-7, and 11 from Robinson, who was 4-of-7.

Montana opened the second half on an 8-0 run to regain the lead, but a Marlon Ruffin lay-in finally staunched it and brought Omaha with one at 40-39. Omaha trailed for nearly four more minutes until seven straight points from Gibson locked it at 48-48.

A 6-0 run courtesy of Pile, Gibson and Robinson built a 59-54 advantage, but Montana later used a 9-1 surge of its own to go ahead 66-61 with two minutes left. Omaha found itself trailing 68-62 with 48 seconds remaining.

But the Mavericks still had plenty of fight, as seven straight points from Robinson on two driving layups and a triple brought them within one at 70-69 with nine seconds to go. After two free throws from Owens pushed the Montana lead back out to 72-69, Gibson stepped up, and his deep pullup three on the assist from Robinson forced the extra period. Omaha was 4-of-4 to close the second half.

After trading buckets to start, Montana managed to create a 79-77 advantage, but Omaha outscored the Grizzlies 8-1 from there.

A pair of Pile free throws put the Mavericks ahead by one, and Omaha never relinquished the lead as four straight Thornhill free throws strengthened the margin to 85-80. The Grizzlies managed to cut it a three-point game after a Pridgett layup, but two more foul shots from Robinson put it away at 87-82.

Last Matchup: South Dakota State vs Omaha
OMAHA, Neb. -- South Dakota State men's basketball dropped a heartbreaker Thursday night against Omaha, as a last-second bucket snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Jackrabbits in an 85-84 setback.

SDSU (20-7, 10-2 Summit League) shot 46 percent as a team and hit 17-of-34 from deep, but could not slow a Maverick squad that overcame a double-digit halftime deficit to defend their home court.

David Jenkins tied a school record with 10 3-pointers in the contest, finishing with 34 points on the night to lead the Jackrabbits.

Mike Daum added 29 points and 12 rebounds in his 17th double-double of the season, hitting 8-of-9 at the free throw line. Daum became the school's all-time 3-point leader during the game and now has 257 treys in his career.

Skyler Flatten rounded out the top scorers with 10 points while matching Alex Arians for the team-lead in assists (four).

Omaha (15-9, 9-2 Summit League) was led by Mitch Hahn, who scored 22 and hit the game's final shot.

A trio of Jenkins 3-pointers helped State take control early, and with 9:02 on the clock the Jackrabbits pushed their lead into double figures for the first time on the night. Omaha answered to draw within four moments later, but SDSU worked its way out of a cold spell and grew its lead back to double-digits at the half.

Ahead 43-30 at the break, the Jackrabbits opened the second half with Jenkins' fourth 3-pointer of the night, but were forced to deal with a pesky Maverick squad that roared back to take a 51-49 lead before the 14-minute mark thanks to a burst of 18 unanswered.

SDSU stopped the Omaha run with back-to-back Jenkins 3-pointers, setting the stage for a back-and-forth race to the finish between the top teams in the Summit League.

The Jacks trailed by as many as six down the stretch, but answered the Mavericks' punches with a late rally, taking an 84-83 lead with 5.7 seconds left after a pair of Daum free throw.

With time winding down, though, Omaha's Mitch Hann sank a baseline floater with 0.2 seconds on the clock to squash SDSU's comeback hopes.

-GoJacks.com-