SDSU men ready for Purdue Fort Wayne

Saturday, January 11

Fort Wayne, Ind.

6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET

South Dakota State University

Purdue Fort Wayne

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

1/10/2020 8:38:00 AM | Men's Basketball

GAME 20: South Dakota State (12-7, 3-1) at Purdue Fort Wayne (9-9, 2-1 Summit League)

When	Saturday, Jan. 11 \| 7 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. CST
Where	Memorial Coliseum \| Fort Wayne, Ind.
Live Audio / Radio	Jackrabbits All-Access \| Jackrabbit Sports Network I 104.1 FM \| Tyler Merriam
Television / Live Video	YouTube
Live Stats	GoMastodons.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

Previewing the Game
South Dakota State heads East this weekend to wrap up a two-game road trip. The Jackrabbits travel to Fort Wayne, Indiana Saturday to take on the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons. SDSU and the 'Dons tip at 7 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. CST inside Memorial Coliseum.

South Dakota State (12-7, 2-1 Summit League) has opened 2020 with three straight wins, averaging 89 points per game in the new year.

Purdue Fort Wayne (9-9, 2-1 Summit League) picked off Western Illinois in Macomb, Illinois last Wednesday, 77-69. Prior to that, the 'Dons dropped an 83-69 contest at North Dakota.

The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series with Purdue Fort Wayne, 19-13. SDSU is 5-9 in road matchups against the Mastodons.

About South Dakota State
Growth and competition were areas of focus throughout the 2019-20 nonconference slate and head coach Eric Henderson's first two months at the helm. After securing a winning nonleague record, the Jacks are in their third week of Summit League play looking to continue their hot play of late.

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 69.4 points per game. The Jacks have limited opponents to under 60 in seven games, including the final three of nonleague play against Nebraska-Kearney, Florida Gulf Coast and Idaho.

Offensively, the Jackrabbits are shooting 47.5 percent with 136 3-pointers, third-most among Summit League teams. SDSU has buried 257 of its 369 free throw efforts and is 11-1 in games where it shoots more free throws than its opponents.

Douglas Wilson is one of two Jackrabbits averaging double figures, leading the team with 17.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest. The Des Moines, Iowa native has six 20-plus scoring performances and four double-doubles, sinking 10 or more field goals in five games. He is second in the Summit League in scoring entering the weekend. The two-time NJCAA All-American and 2018-19 NJCAA Player of the Year is shooting 61 percent from the field and last time out dropped 31 points at Denver.

Matt Dentlinger, second on the team with 10.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest, has turned in a trio of double-doubles, most recently in a 12-point, 10-board performance against Idaho. A 57.5 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). He set a new career high with 18 points against Oral Roberts and followed that game with double-figure scoring performances against Western Illinois (14) and Denver (12).

Alex Arians and Noah Freidel have elevated their play in the last six weeks and are both shooting over 45 percent from the field.

Arians has started all 19 games and is fifth on the team in scoring at 8.7 points per game, sinking 20 3-pointers to go with 108 rebounds (5.7 per game), 26 assists and 18 steals. The Madison, Wisconsin guard has posted five consecutive double-figure scoring games and scored 10 or more in six of his last seven appearances, including a double-double against WIU on Jan. 4.

Freidel, the 2019 Argus Leader Class A Player of the Year, sits third on the team in scoring (9.5 points per game) and first in 3-pointers (35) after a pair of 20-plus scoring performances (and four double-digit games) to start Summit League play. From Tea, South Dakota, Freidel scorched the nets for 28 with six 3-pointers at Omaha and followed it with 23 points and four 3-pointers against Oral Roberts. He has buried five or more 3s in two games this year, and has come up with 12 steals and 20 assists.

Brandon Key (9.2 points per game) was a catalyst at the point in the first half of the season, posting four or more assists in 11 games, including five straight entering league action. He has not appeared in Summit League action so far due to injury. 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.

David Wingett (8.2 points per game) has started the last six contests and is currently second on the team with 34 3-pointers. The Winnebago, Nebraska native is one of six Jackrabbits with double-digit steals (13), sitting fourth in swipes behind Arians (18), Key (16) and Wilson (16).

Baylor Scheierman has 13 3-pointers and 34 assists in his first collegiate season, averaging 6.4 points over 19.5 minutes per contest. The Aurora, Nebraska guard has also pulled down 4.6 boards on average, helping SDSU to a plus-4.9 rebounding margin at 39.6 boards per contest.

About Purdue Fort Wayne
Fresh off an eight-point road victory at Western Illinois last Wednesday, the Mastodons welcome SDSU to town for the latest matchup in a series that has turned into a shootout over the past two years. In total, the last three matchups have seen both teams score 277 points. SDSU is 5-1 against the Mastodons dating back to 2016-7, and only two of those games have seen at least one team fail to reach 90 points, thanks in part to the now-graduated record-breakers, Mike Daum (South Dakota State) and John Konchar (Purdue Fort Wayne)

This year's Mastodon squad is averaging 70.8 points per game, led by a pair of double-figure scorers.

Jarred Godfrey paces the 'Dons with 26.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, shooting 48.9 percent from the field with a team-best 34 3-pointers.

Brian Patrick (13.1 points per game) is in double figures as well with 33 3-pointers on the year, adding 4.1 rebounds per game with a .478 shooting percentage.

Matt Holba (8.2 ppg) has hit 28 3-pointers on a team that is second in the Summit League in treys (156), while Dylan Carl is just shy of the lead for total rebounds (90) at 5.0 per game, adding 10 total blocks and 7.9 points per game in the paint.

The 'Dons are plus-3.3 in rebounding margin and hold a 0.9 assist-to-turnover mark as a program.

Jon Coffman is in his ninth season leading the Mastodons. He holds a 105-67 record on the bench.

A South Dakota State Win Would ...
Make SDSU 13-7 on the year, 4-1 in Summit League play and 19-13 all-time against Purdue Fort Wayne ... hand the Jacks their second-straight win over the Mastodons ... give SDSU a 1,548-1,047-1 program mark.

A South Dakota State Loss Would ...
Drop the Jackrabbits to 12-8 on the year and 3-2 in Summit League play ... snap a three-game winning streak ... make the Jacks 19-14 all-time against Purdue Fort Wayne ... give the Jacks a 1,547-1,048-1 program mark.

Trending Up
The past seven games have shown a noticeable uptick in several statistical areas for the Jackrabbits, most notably the team's 3-point shooting and overall shooting percentage.

After sinking just 79 3-pointers through the first 12 games of the season (at a clip of 29 percent), SDSU is 57-of-145 from deep dating back to its Dec. 13 contest with Nebraska-Kearney. The Jacks have shot 39.3 percent as a team in that span with four players sinking five or more treys.
SDSU has taken better shot selection of late, leading to an increase of over 17 points per game. Additionally, SDSU is shooting 51.9 percent of its last seven contests compared to 44.8 percent through the first 12 games.
In line with better shot selection, SDSU has seen an uptick in assists per game (12.8 to 14.7) and a decrease in turnovers per contest (14.8 to 11.1).
After averaging 7.5 and 6.2 points through 12 games, respectively, Noah Freidel and Alex Arians have seen their scoring averages rise to 13.0 and 13.0 points per contest.
Freidel (16), David Wingett (16) and Arians (11) have lit up the nets from deep over the last seven games.

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 19 games of its 2019-20 schedule related to the free throw line.

Though SDSU is shooting just 69.6 percent as a team at the charity stripe, the Jackrabbits are 11-1 in games where they attempt more free throws than their opponent. Additionally, State is 1-7 in the seven games where opponents have gotten to the line more.

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

Basketball Coaches Show Every Monday
The Jackrabbit Basketball Coaches Show is live at Cubby's Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Brookings Monday evenings at 6 p.m.. The hour-long show covering the 2019-20 basketball season tips off every Monday 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.

#FearFrost

The Jacks own a 113-6 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 18 games is tied for fourth-longest in NCAA Division I.
Since 2011-12, South Dakota State has won 95 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

Five Jackrabbits have scored in double figures three times this season: at CSU Bakersfield, versus Western Illinois and at Denver.
Douglas Wilson led the team in points (25), rebounds (10), steals (two) and blocks (four), and was tied for the lead in assists (four) against Oral Roberts Jan. 2.
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 753 rebounds on the year, tallying 40 or more boards in nine games.
Douglas Wilson is second nationally with 139 field goals this season, ranking 24th in field goal percentage and 13th in total points. This is the second season in a row a Jackrabbit has ranked in the top 15 in total points so far (Mike Daum, 2018-19).
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 nine times this year and are 8-1 in those contests, with the lone loss coming at Indiana.
At least one Jackrabbit has scored in double figures over the last 393 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 423 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 7-6 in Summit League openers.

Jackrabbits Featured on All-Decade Teams
Former Jackrabbits Mike Daum and Nate Wolters were featured on All-Decade Teams, announced Dec. 31 as 2019 came to an end.

CollegeInsider.com featured Daum and Wolters on the Lou Henson Award team, while Daum also earned Lute Olson Award All-Decade team honors from the organization.

Mid-Major Madness also tabbed Daum as one of 10 selections to its all-decade squad.
Daum posted a 22.4 career scoring average and poured in 3,067 points, closing his time as Division I's No. 7 all-time scorer. He was a 2018-19 consensus All-American and a three-time Summit League Player of the Year.

Wolters wreaked havoc on defenses and closed his career with 2,352 points, 668 assists and 601 rebounds. He was a two-time Associated Press All-American, earning third-team honors as a senior, and picked up a second team NABC All-American nod in 2013.

Mfum Enrolls Early; Will Redshirt
Jackrabbit men's basketball signee William Mfum has enrolled at South Dakota State for the spring 2020 semester and will redshirt with the team. He is eligible to practice throughout the semester, and will look to make his debut in the 2020-21 season.

William Mfum graduated in December from Spring Creek Academy (Plano, Texas). Mfum will redshirt this semester and practice with the team after leaving Spring Creek 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.

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).

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
DENVER, Colo. -- The Jackrabbit men's basketball team shook off a rocky start Wednesday to win its third-straight, topping Denver at Magness Arena, 80-68.

South Dakota State (12-7, 3-1 Summit League) trailed by as many as 11 in the game, but locked down defensively in the second half and limited Denver to a .188 field goal percentage in the final period. Overall, the Jackrabbits outscored the Pioneers by 24 over the final 20 minutes to pull off the comeback victory.
Five Jackrabbits scored double figures for the second time in two games, led by Douglas Wilson, who racked up a career-best 31 points to go with eight rebounds.

Matt Dentlinger added 12 points and six rebounds, while Baylor Scheierman (seven rebounds, three assists) and Noah Freidel each had 11 points. Alex Arians finished with 10 points and six boards.

SDSU made just two 3-pointers, but shot 50 percent from the field overall and went 22-of-27 at the charity stripe. Additionally, the Jacks were plus-five on the boards and had 50 points in the paint.

"A really tough start for us," head coach Eric Henderson said. "We didn't play very hard and weren't very connected defensively that first half. Credit to our guys, though, because we played with a lot more urgency in the second. We're not perfect, but we have a fun group that is starting to understand that when they play together with good energy, positive things will happen."

The Pioneers started fast, building a 16-7 lead before the under-12 timeout by hitting six of their first seven from the field. An pair of early 3s helped SDSU stay within striking distance, but Denver's lead reached double figures (25-15) on a Taeylr Gatlin 3-pointer at 9:13. State worked its way back to within five (36-31) out of the under-four media break, then went into the half trailing 46-37 as the Pioneers shot 60 percent in the opening frame.

A Freidel 3-pointer pulled the Jacks back within five near the 13-minute mark of the second, draining the second bucket of a 16-2 Jackrabbit rally that saw State take its first lead of the night (55-54) after Wilson hit a layup at 7:30. South Dakota State continued to pull away, stretching its advantage to a game-high 12 inside the final minute thanks to a strong showing at the line.

Opponent Last Time Out
MACOMB, Ill. – Purdue Fort Wayne limited Western Illinois to 39.4 percent shooting to pick up a 77-69 Summit League men's basketball victory on Wednesday (Jan. 8) evening at Western Hall.

A double-double of 26 points and a career-high 13 rebounds from Jarred Godfrey and a career-high 19 points from freshman Deonte Billups were also keys to the Mastodon victory.

Billups did most of his damage in the first half. He finished 8-of-9 from the floor in the game, but scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the first. He had a healthy cheering section with dozens of supporters making the 90-minute trip from Moline, Illinois to watch his best game as a Mastodon. All of Billups' points, with the exception of a 3-pointer, came in the paint.

All seven lead changes and one tie came in the first half.

While the 'Dons led for more than 13 minutes in the first 20 minutes, the first half featured all seven lead changes. The 'Dons went to the break up 41-40.

The visitors opened the second half on an 18-5 run. Godfrey had 10 of the points including eight straight at one point. WIU went 2-of-10 in the stretch. The Mastodons opened a lead as large as 15 in the second half and limited WIU to 11-of-33 shooting in the half.

In the contest, Godfrey went over 500 points for his career.

Brian Patrick finished a point short of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

The Mastodons held a 47-32 advantage on the glass. The 'Dons grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, making it eight straight games the Mastodons have reached double-digits on the offensive glass.

Purdue Fort Wayne finished with a season-high 52 points in the paint.

The 'Dons improve to 9-9 (2-1 Summit League). Western Illinois falls to 4-10 (1-3 Summit League).

Last Matchup: SDSU vs Purdue Fort Wayne (2/21/19)
Thursday's matchup between the top two Summit League offenses lived up to its billing inside Frost Arena, as South Dakota State men's basketball claimed a 92-83 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne in comeback fashion.

Playing in front of 2,431 fans, the Jackrabbits shot 47.1 percent from the field and hit 13 3-pointers, outscoring the Mastodons by six in the paint and eight in second-chance buckets.
SDSU improved to 22-7 (12-2 Summit League) with the win and maintained its place atop the Summit League standings.

Mike Daum, who is now 10th on the NCAA's all-time scoring chart with 2,981 career points, posted his second 30-20 double-double of the season, finishing with 38 points and 20 rebounds. He went 8-of-11 at the free throw line and had four 3-pointers. Additionally, the Kimball, Nebraska native led the team with three steals and blocked a career-best five shots.
David Jenkins sank six 3-pointers and finished with 22 points, adding four assists.

Alex Arians just missed a double-double of his own with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Skyler Flatten was clutch down the stretch, burying a pair of 3s in the second half to finish with 12 points. Flatten added eight boards and a team-high five assists.

Purdue Fort Wayne (17-12, 9-5 Summit League) shot 43.2 percent combined and had 14 3-pointers. The Mastodons were led by John Konchar's 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

The game began at a torrid pace, as both programs shot over 50 percent in the opening half. Back-and-forth early, State created separation at the under-12 media break after a quick 4-0 brought Frost Fans to their feet. Ahead 26-22 at that point, the Jackrabbits saw the Mastodons rally out of the break with a burst of 12 unanswered and were forced to call a timeout with 9:12 on the clock down 34-26.

From there, the teams returned to trading buckets the rest of the half as the Jacks began their climb back to within striking distance. SDSU cut the deficit to one with less than a minute to go in the half, but Purdue Fort Wayne buried a late trey to send State to the locker room, down 53-49.

The Mastodons continued their hot shooting from beyond the arc early in the second, opening up a 64-55 lead before the under-16 break to put SDSU in its largest hole of the night. Daum hit a 3-pointer out of the break, however, and after a swipe-and-slam from Flatten the Jacks roared back to take a 71-68 lead at 9:57 thanks to a 16-4 run for the home team.

Tied at 78 with 4:40 to play, consecutive treys from Jenkins and Flatten put SDSU back in front for good, and the Jacks cruised to the final margin by scoring the final eight points of the night.

-GoJacks.com-