Jackrabbit men travel to Oral Roberts

Wednesday, January 29

Tulsa, Okla.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Oral Roberts

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

1/27/2020 12:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball

GAME 24: South Dakota State (15-8, 6-2) at Oral Roberts (11-9, 4-3)

When	Wednesday, Jan. 29 \| 7 p.m.
Where	Mabee Center \| Tulsa, Oklahoma
Live Audio / Radio	Jackrabbits All-Access \| Jackrabbit Sports Network I WNAX 570 AM \| Tyler Merriam
Television / Live Video	ORU Sports Network \| Adam Hildebrandt
Live Stats	ORUAthletics.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

Previewing the Game
South Dakota State hits the road for a two-game swing this week, opening the trip Wednesday at Oral Roberts. The Jackrabbits and Golden Eagles tip at 7 p.m. from the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

SDSU (15-8, 6-2 Summit League) sits first in the Summit League standings through the first half of league play, winning six of seven games so far this month while averaging 83 points per game against Summit League opponents.

Oral Roberts (11-9, 4-3 Summit League) is coming off a 91-80 setback at South Dakota but has won four its last five.

The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series with the Golden Eagles, 15-9, and have claimed six consecutive against ORU. That streak includes a 96-79 victory at home earlier this season. Douglas Wilson finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in that win, while Noah Freidel (23), Matt Dentlinger (18) and Alex Arians (17) were in double figure scoring as well.

About South Dakota State
The final race to the Summit begins this week as South Dakota State turns its attention to the final half of league games. The Jackrabbits have seen immense growth through the first 23 games of the season, blending together seven newcomers, nine underclassman, six returning letterwinners and a first-year head coach. The Jackrabbits secured a winning nonleague record for the third year in a row and are 6-1 in January, thanks in part to a plus-.500 field goal percentage in all eight league contests thus far.

The Jackrabbits' defensive unit has limited opponents to 70.3 points per game on the year, holding teams under 60 in seven contests. SDSU has allowed 80 or more points in just three games.

Offensively, the Jackrabbits are shooting 48.4 percent with 169 3-pointers, fourth-most among Summit League teams. SDSU has buried 303 of its 432 free throw attempts and is 12-1 in games where it shoots more free throws than its opponent.

Douglas Wilson is one of two Jackrabbits averaging double figures, leading the team with 17.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest. The Des Moines, Iowa native has seven 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. The two-time NJCAA All-American and 2018-19 NJCAA Player of the Year is shooting a league-best 61.3 percent from the field and last week dropped 31 points at Denver. Wilson missed the South Dakota (1/19/20) contest due to injury but returned to the starting lineup the following game.

Matt Dentlinger, second on the team with 11.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest, has turned in a trio of double-doubles, most recently in a 12-point, 10-board performance against Idaho. A 61 percent shooter, Dentlinger put together a monster effort at South Dakota, pouring in 26 points on 13-of-18 shooting to go with seven assists and six rebounds. He followed that with 21 points against North Dakota State. The Arcadia, Iowa native sank 13 consecutive field goal attempts between the Arizona, Mississippi Valley State and Samford contests (going 8-for-8 against MVSU) earlier this year, and has reached double figures in 13 games, including six of the last seven.

Alex Arians and Noah Freidel and are both shooting 43 percent from the field and have elevated their play since the opening month of action.

Arians has started all 23 games and is fifth on the team in scoring at 9.0 points per game, sinking 26 3-pointers to go with 137 rebounds (six per game), 39 assists and 19 steals. The Madison, Wisconsin guard has scored 10 or more in 10 games this year, including a 16-point showing last weekend against South Dakota. He played 39 minutes in a win over North Dakota State and tallied 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, and did not commit a turnover in his second double-double performance of the year.

Freidel, the 2019 Argus Leader Class A Player of the Year, sits third on the team in scoring (9.6 points per game) and second in 3-pointers (41). Freidel has five double-digit scoring games in league play, including two 20-plus efforts at Omaha (28 with six 3-pointers) and against Oral Roberts (23 with four 3-pointers). The Tea, South Dakota native has buried five or more 3s in two games this year, and has come up with 14 steals and 25 assists.

David Wingett (8.7 points per game) has started the last 10 contests and made the most of the opportunity. He leads the team with 44 3-pointers on the season and has buried three or more from deep in seven games. The Winnebago, Nebraska native lit up the nets for a career-best 24 points (with six 3s) at Purdue Fort Wayne and had 13 with a trio of 3-pointers at South Dakota.

Baylor Scheierman, who earned his first career start at South Dakota, has 16 3-pointers and 46 assists in his first collegiate season, averaging 6.1 points over 19.9 minutes per contest. The Aurora, Nebraska guard has also pulled down 4.5 boards on average, helping SDSU to a plus-4.5 rebounding margin at 38.6 boards per contest.

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 nonleague games, including five straight to end that portion of the schedule. He returned to the lineup after missing the first six league games due to injury and played nine minutes at South Dakota with a pair of 3-pointers. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin guard has six double-digit scoring games with 72 total assists this season, dishing 4.5 per contest. Key holds a 1.6 assist-to-turnover mark.

About Oral Roberts
ORU saw a four-game winning streak snapped last Saturday against South Dakota and currently sits fifth in the Summit League standings.

The Golden Eagles are averaging 79.5 points per game (81.7 per game in league play) and are led by four double-digit scorers.

Emmanuel Nzekwesi averages just shy of a double-double at 17.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, shooting 57.9 percent from the field. He has tallied 10 or more points in all 15 appearances this year and posted seven double-doubles.

Max Abmas and Deondre Burns have started all 20 games and are scoring 15 and 14.2 points per game, respectively.

Abmas leads the team with 54 3-pointers, burying 41.5 percent from the field overall. He has added 20 steals and 24 assists.

Burns' 82 assists leads all Golden Eagles, as the guard is shooting 45.3 percent and adding 4.3 rebounds per game.

Kevin Obanor rounds out the top scorers at 11.2 points per game, shooting 42.1 percent from the field with 6.8 boards per contest.

The Golden Eagles are plus-5.1 on the glass and are limiting opponents to a .437 shooting percentage through 20 contests. In league play alone, though, ORU has seen opponents shoot 48.8 percent and are only plus-0.6 in rebounding margin.

Paul Mills is in his third season as head coach of the Golden Eagles. He is 33-51 on the bench.

A South Dakota State Win Would ...
Make SDSU 16-8 on the year, 7-2 in Summit League play and 16-9 all-time against the Golden Eagles ... hand the Jacks their seventh-straight win over ORU ... give the Jacks a 1,551-1,048-1 program mark.

A South Dakota State Loss Would ...
Drop the Jackrabbits to 15-9 on the year and 6-3 in Summit League play ... snap a six-game winning streak in games against the Golden Eagles and move SDSU to 15-10 in the all-time series with ORU ... give the Jacks a 1,550-1,049-1 program mark.

Trending Up
The past 11 games have shown a noticeable uptick in several statistical areas for the Jackrabbits, most notably the team's scoring 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 90-of-219 from deep dating back to its Dec. 13 contest with Nebraska-Kearney. The Jacks have shot 41.1 percent as a team in that span with five players sinking eight or more treys.
SDSU has taken better shot selection of late, leading to an increase of more than six points per game (74 to 80.9). Additionally, SDSU is shooting 52.3 percent of its last 11 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 10.8).
After averaging 7.5 and 6.2 points through 12 games, respectively, Noah Freidel and Alex Arians have posted scoring averages of 11.9 and 12.3 points in the last 11 games.
David Wingett (26 3-pointers), Freidel (22 3s) and Arians (16 3s) have lit up the nets from deep in that span.

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

SDSU is shooting 70.1 percent as a team at the charity stripe, and the Jackrabbits are 13-1 in games where they attempt more free throws than their opponent. Additionally, State is 2-7 in the nine games where opponents have gotten to the line more.

SDSU has held opponents to single-digit attempts five 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.

Summit League Food Fight
The 13th annual Summit League Food Fight begins this month, with South Dakota State Athletics looking to defend its title.

The friendly competition between league schools focuses on supporting local organizations in the fight against hunger and food insecurity through the donation of non-perishable food items. Besides food donations, cash and Hobo Dough are accepted. A $5 donation equals 13 pounds of food.

SDSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will be collecting donations at a variety of events, including all home athletic competitions inside Frost Arena. SAAC members will also be collecting at the University Student Union Jan. 23 and Feb. 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. both days, and at various community events.

Local law enforcement, schools and business are joining the Jackrabbits in the Food Fight. Jackrabbit student-athletes will serve customers and bus tables at the Brookings Culver's Jan. 21 (5-9 p.m.), and Cubby's will host SDSU SAAC and a Food Fight event in conjunction with the Jackrabbits Basketball Coaches Show Feb. 17.

Additionally, Jackrabbit student-athletes will collect donations with local law enforcement at Hy-Vee Feb. 21 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In addition to the Food Fight events, cash donations or checks made payable to the Brookings Food Pantry can be dropped off at the Jackrabbit Ticket Office inside the Stanley J. Marshall Center during weekday business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and at the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center (Room 114). Jackrabbits fans can also donate online.

SDSU has won six of the last seven Summit League Food Fight titles, including five consecutive from 2013 and 2017. The Jackrabbits collected 40,607.43 pounds of food during last year's competition, claiming the top prize for the seventh time overall. The Jacks have set a goal of 45,000 pounds for this year's competition.

More information can be found on GoJacks.com.

#FearFrost

The Jacks own a 115-6 record at Frost Arena over the last nine seasons dating back to 2011-12, which includes perfect home records in five seasons during that span, which includes two home winning streaks of 30 or more games and three of 25 or more.
SDSU's .954 home winning percentage over the past five years (back to 2015-16) is also the nation's best mark in that span.
The Jackrabbits' current home winning streak of 20 games is tied for third-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

10 different Jackrabbits have posted double-digit scoring performances this season.
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 seven games this season, including three straight to end nonleague play. State did not trail against Purdue Fort Wayne (1/11) or North Dakota State (1/22) in league play.
SDSU is fourth nationally with 887 rebounds on the year, tallying 40 or more boards in 10 games.
Douglas Wilson is eighth nationally with 163 field goals this season, ranking 19th in field goal percentage and 33rd in total points. This is the fourth season in a row a Jackrabbit has ranked in the top 50 in total points (Mike Daum, 2016-19).
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 (2002): 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 11 times this year and are 10-1 in those contests, with the lone loss coming at Indiana.
At least one Jackrabbit has scored in double figures over the last 397 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 427 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
The Jackrabbit men's basketball team won its 20th consecutive game at Frost Arena Wednesday night, taking down North Dakota State 78-73 in front of 3,011 fans.

South Dakota State (15-8, 6-2 Summit League) shot 55.8 percent as a team and outscored the Bison by 12 in the paint as four Jackrabbits scored in double figures.

Alex Arians played all 40 minutes and turned in an all-around performance, finishing with 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists while going 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. He did not commit a turnover.

Matt Dentlinger led the scoring attack for the second-straight game, finishing with 21 points while grabbing three boards. Douglas Wilson scored 20 with four rebounds and a trio of assists in his return to the lineup.

Matt Mims added 10 points, sinking five of his six free throws and David Wingett collected five boards.

"It was fun and enjoyable to get back to Frost Arena and play our tails off," head coach Eric Henderson said. "In the end, I was really proud of how we competed on both ends of the floor in the first half. To hold an explosive team like that to 22 points, and to limit them to one shot more often than not when they had the ball, showed great effort by our guys. We were able to sustain that for the most part, and though the first part of the second half got away from us a little bit, we're really proud of how they finished it off."

South Dakota State went inside early and often, tallying 24 points in the paint through the opening frame. A 9-2 run midway through the first helped the Jackrabbits gain separation from the Bison, and SDSU worked its way to a 34-22 halftime lead as Dentlinger and Wilson combined for 21 in the first half.

NDSU rallied to start the second, finding the basket on eight consecutive possessions after the break to crawl within three (41-38). SDSU stopped the charge with a return to its focus on interior play, but were forced to deal with a pesky Bison squad that stayed within striking distance the rest of the way. A Dentlinger layup and Mims free throw put the Jacks up, 70-62, going into the final minute of play, and South Dakota State sank nine free throws in the final 1:03 to seal the victory.

Opponent Last Time Out
VERMILLION, S.D. – Emmanuel Nzekwesi and Max Abmas combined to score 51 points as the Oral Roberts men's basketball team suffered a 91-80 loss at South Dakota Saturday afternoon from the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.

Trailing by as many as nine points in the opening half, ORU battled back to even the score in the early minutes of half number two, but could not overcome the Coyotes snapping a four-game winning streak.

The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early 8-3 advantage as Nzekwesi scored six quick points, but the home side turned to the outside shot, as it does best in the league, going on a 7-0 run that spanned nearly four minutes taking a 19-17 advantage.

A Max Abmas triple regained a one-point edge for ORU, 22-21, before the Coyotes connected on back-to-back 3-pointers and pushed the lead up to nine, 37-28, with five minutes in the frame. The Golden Eagles came out of a late timeout and swung momentum in their favor going on an 8-2 run and closed the half on a floater with one second by Deondre Burns cutting the gap to 45-42.

Nzekwesi converted a pair of free throws early in the second stanza pulling ORU even with USD, 52-52, only to have the Coyotes tally the next five points and never let the lead slip dissipate. The Trophy Club, Texas, native continued to provide a bulk of the Golden Eagles offense scoring 13 of their 17 points in the second half keeping the deficit close, 62-59.

ORU got a pair of free throws from Ty Lazenby cutting the margin to one, 62-61, and had a chance to take a lead after a defensive stop, only to see the 3-point try fall off the rim. USD capitalized and out-scored the visitors by a 10-point margin during a five-minute span to move ahead, 78-67, and led by as many as 14 points. The Golden Eagles clawed back to a seven-point game, 85-78, but the Coyotes closed out the home win, 91-80, at the free throw line.

Lazenby hit both ends of a 1-and-1 free throw situation with 11:01 remaining in the second half.
Nzekwesi scored 15 of his team-leading 27 points in the second half as he shot 6-of-8 overall in the frame and made all three free throw attempts. It was the fifth time he has scored at least 20 points in a game this season, all of which have come in road games.

After Nzekwesi scored six of ORU's first eight points to open the game, the redshirt senior followed the exact same trend in the second half. He finished with 27 points on 12-of-16 shooting and grabbed a team-best nine rebounds, eight of which came in the second half.
Abmas gave the Golden Eagles 17 points in the first half and went on to score 24 points knocking down three of the team's four made 3-pointers.

Burns put together another double-digit scoring effort recording 10 points, while R.J. Fuqua tallied nine points and Kevin Obanor added six points and six rebounds.

Last Matchup: SDSU vs ORU (1/2/20)
South Dakota State men's basketball opened 2020 with a 96-79 victory over Oral Roberts Thursday at Frost Arena, shooting 62.5 percent from the field with four double-figure scorers.

Douglas Wilson and Noah Freidel led the attack with 25 and 23 points, respectively. Wilson pulled down for the double-double and Freidel sank 9-of-11 from the field with four 3-pointers.

Matt Dentlinger finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Alex Arians added 17 in the scoring column, hitting 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from deep.

The Jacks (10-7, 1-1 Summit League) were plus-five on the glass, holding Oral Roberts to a season-low 30 rebounds to go with a 60-28 advantage in points in the paint.

"What a basketball game," head coach Eric Henderson said. "I'm really, really proud of our guys' effort against, I think, one of the better teams in the Summit League. Coach Mills does a tremendous job there. But our guys' effort tonight was fantastic. When you look at the stat sheet and you see 19 assists, I'm very proud of how selfless our guys are and how hard they competed."

ORU built an 11-8 lead early on, but State answered with a 9-0 run to take control for good, closing the burst with an acrobatic Freidel layup at 12:33.

An Arians trey, Wilson alley-oop and Dentlinger hook shot helped SDSU push its lead to double figures (29-19) for the first time, forcing an ORU timeout at 7:37.

The hot-shooting continued the rest of the half, as Arians capped off the impressive start with a driving layup on State's final possession of the frame, sending SDSU to the locker room ahead, 45-27.

ORU came out firing in the second half with 11 unanswered, cutting the lead to seven (45-38) before David Wingett sank his first 3-pointer of the night at 17:48. Freidel snuffed out any comeback hopes for ORU, though, as he scored 15 of the next 19 Jackrabbit points and SDSU grew its lead back to 15 (66-51) at the 12-minute mark.

The Golden Eagles hung around and traded buckets the rest of the way, but never cut the margin to single digits again as SDSU closed out its first league win.

-GoJacks.com-