Men's hoops hosts Denver Friday

Friday, February 14

Brookings, S.D.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Denver

Tickets

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

2/13/2020 7:15:00 AM | Men's Basketball

GAME 27: South Dakota State (18-8, 8-2) vs Denver (5-20, 1-10)

When	Friday, Feb. 14 \| 7 p.m.
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, S.D.
Live Audio / Radio	Jackrabbits All-Access \| Jackrabbit Sports Network I WNAX 570 AM \| Tyler Merriam
Television / Live Video	Jackrabbits All-Access \| Tyler Merriam
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Denver
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

Previewing the Game
South Dakota State welcomes Denver to town for a Friday night matchup this week. The Jackrabbits and Denver tip at 7 p.m. on Military Appreciation Night.

The Jacks will wear custom military appreciation jerseys to be auctioned postgame. Active duty and former military members — with valid identification — can claim up to two free tickets at the Frost Arena box office.

South Dakota State (18-8, 8-2 Summit League) has won four straight entering the weekend and are 13-0 this season inside Frost Arena. The Jackrabbits' current 21-game home winning streak is the nation's third-longest active mark.

Denver (5-20, 1-10 Summit League) has lost five straight. The Pioneers are coming off a 70-63 setback at home last Saturday to Purdue Fort Wayne, but are just one game back from Western Illinois in the Summit League standings.

The Jackrabbits are 17-6 all-time against Denver and 9-2 at home against the Pioneers. SDSU claimed an 80-68 victory in Denver earlier this season in a game that saw the Jackrabbits trail by as many as 11 in the game. The Jacks held Denver to a .188 field goal percentage in the second half, though, and saw five Jackrabbits reach double-figures: Douglas Wilson (31 points), Matt Dentlinger (12 points), Baylor Scheierman (11 points), Noah Freidel (11 points) and Alex Arians (10 points).

About South Dakota State
Five games remain in South Dakota State's race to the Summit, and 11 games into the league season the Jackrabbits sit in a two-way tie for first place alongside North Dakota State. SDSU will play three games inside Frost Arena in the final three weeks of the season, leaning on a home court advantage that has seen the team win 95 percent of its games over the past nine years.

The Jackrabbits secured a winning nonleague record for the third year in a row and went 7-1 in January, and have shot plus-.500 from the field in every league contest thus far.

SDSU's defensive unit has limited opponents to 69.3 points per game, holding teams under 60 in seven contests. SDSU has allowed 80 or more points in just three games.

Offensively, the Jackrabbits are shooting 48.9 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from deep and 70.2 percent from the line. The charity stripe has been an important factor in SDSU's success, as the Jacks are 15-1 in games where it shoots more free throws than its opponent.

Douglas Wilson leads the team with 17.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, tallying nine 20-plus scoring performances and four double-doubles this year. Wilson has buried 10 or more field goals in five games and currently sits second in the league in scoring. The two-time NJCAA All-American and 2018-19 NJCAA Player of the Year is shooting 60.7 percent from the field and has scored 10 or more in all 10 league appearances (missing the South Dakota game due to injury).

Matt Dentlinger, second on the team with 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest, is shooting 69.3 percent against league opponents and posted back-to-back 20-point games against South Dakota (26) and North Dakota State (21). 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 16 games, including eight league games.

Noah Freidel broke into double figures this month and sits at 10.0 points per game. The Tea, South Dakota native has seven double-digit scoring games in league play, including three 20-plus efforts. He scored 28 with six 3-pointer at Omaha and broke the 20-point mark in both games against Oral Roberts (23 with four 3-pointers on Jan. 2, and 22 with four 3-pointers on Jan. 29). Freidel, the 2019 Argus Leader Class A Player of the Year, sits third on the team in scoring and second in 3-pointers (47) while shooting 44.4 percent from the field. He has buried five or more 3s in two games this year and has come up with 17 steals and 38 assists. Freidel has 13 assists over the past three games.

Alex Arians has started all 26 games and has risen to fourth on the team in scoring at 9.3 points per game, sinking 32 3-pointers to go with 153 rebounds (5.9 per game), 44 assists and 21 steals. The Madison, Wisconsin guard has scored 10 or more in 12 games this year and last time out matched his career-high with 19 points against Omaha. Arians also scored 16 at South Dakota and has reached double figures in four of the last five games. 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.

David Wingett (8.5 points per game) has started the last 12 contests and made the most of the opportunity. He leads the team with 48 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 18 3-pointers and 51 assists in his first collegiate season, averaging 6.3 points over 19.8 minutes per contest. The Aurora, Nebraska guard has also pulled down 4.5 boards on average, helping SDSU to a plus-4.9 rebounding margin at 38.7 boards per contest.

About Denver
Denver sits eighth in the Summit League standings with three weeks to go, needing a late season rally to reach next month's Summit League Championship.

Jase Townsend and Ade Murkey lead the team with 17.9 and 16.4 points per game, while Robert Jones is third among Pioneers with a 8.1 scoring average.

The trio are also atop the team's leaderboards in field goal percentage and rebounds per game.
Jones is shooting 51.9 percent from the field, while Murkey (58.2 percent) and Townsend (46.6 percent) are above the 45 percent mark.

Townsend, who has buried 55 3-pointers, is second overall in rebounds (5.4 per game). Murkey leads the team with 5.6 rebounds per game and Jones has pulled down 4.8 boards on average.

Denver is shooting 44.3 percent as a team with 5.2 3-pointers per game, scoring 68.2 on average. Opponents have scored 75.9 points per game against the Pioneers, however, and are shooting 45.2 percent against the DU defense. On the boards, Denver is minus-2.7 in rebounding margin.

Rodney Billups is in his fourth season leading Denver and holds a 44-71 record on the bench.

A South Dakota State Win Would ...
Make SDSU 19-8 on the year, 10-2 in Summit League play and 18-6 all-time against the Pioneers ... move the Jacks to 14-0 at home this season and extend their active home winning streak to 22 games ... give the Jacks a 1,554-1,048-1 program mark.

A South Dakota State Loss Would ...
Drop the Jackrabbits to 18-9 on the year and 9-3 in Summit League play ... move SDSU to 17-7 all-time against Denver and end a seven-game winning streak for the Jacks against the Pioneers ... snap SDSU's 21-game home winning streak ... give the Jacks a 1,553-1,049-1 program mark.

Trending Well in Conference Play
Though the Jackrabbits put together a successful nonconference season to start the 2020 season off on the right foot, SDSU's play has seen a noticeable uptick across several statistical areas during league play.

After sinking just 103 3-pointers through 15 nonleague games (at a clip of 30.4 percent), the Jackrabbits are 89 of 204 from deep in 11 league games with a long range shooting percentage of 43.6 percent. Additionally, five players have double-digit 3s in that span.
SDSU has been more selective of shots in league play, leading to an increase of more than six points per game (74.3 to 81.1). With that, the Jacks are shooting 53.9 percent in league games compared to a .453 rate in the first 15 contests.
In line with better shot selection, SDSU has seen an uptick in assists per game (13.5 to 14.8) and a decrease in turnovers per contest (14.1 to 12.4).
After averaging 7.3 points per game in nonleague play, Noah Freidel and Alex Arians have posted scoring averages of 13.6 and 12.0, respectively, in the last 11 contests.
David Wingett (21 3-pointers), Freidel (25 3s), Arians (19 3s) and Matt Mims (11 3-pointers) have lit up the nets from deep against Summit League opponents, with Mims burying two or more treys in three league 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 26 games of its 2019-20 schedule related to the free throw line.

SDSU is shooting 70 percent as a team at the charity stripe, and the Jackrabbits are 15-1 in games where they attempt more free throws than their opponent. Additionally, State is 3-7 in the 10 games where opponents have gotten to the line more.

SDSU has held opponents to single-digit attempts six 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 began last 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 116-6 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 .956 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 21 games is third-longest in NCAA Division I.
Since 2011-12, South Dakota State has won 95.1 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.
Noah Freidel led the team in points (22), assists (six) and steals (two) and was tied for the lead in rebounds (seven) at Oral Roberts Jan. 29.
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.
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 14 times this year and are 13-1 in those contests, with the lone loss coming at Indiana. The Jacks are holding opponents to under 70 in league action this season and have seen seven opponents fail to reach that mark in Summit League games.
At least one Jackrabbit has scored in double figures over the last 400 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 430 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 has featured new roles and new faces this season, as the Jackrabbits returned 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
South Dakota State men's basketball won its 21st consecutive game at Frost Arena Saturday, rolling past Omaha 81-64 in front of 3,845 fans at the 2020 Pork Classic.

The Jackrabbits (18-8, 9-2 Summit League) claimed their fourth-straight victory overall and maintained their hold on first place in the league standings, thanks in part to four double-digit scorers and a 39-32 advantage on the boards.

Douglas Wilson led the scoring attack with 24 while grabbing eight boards and going 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

Matt Dentlinger went 9-of-12 from the field for 19 points while bringing down seven rebounds. Alex Arians tied a career-high with 19 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists.

David Wingett tied for the team lead with eight rebounds and scored 10 points. Noah Friedel led the Jacks with five assists.

"It's always enjoyable to be back in Frost Arena and we had a great crowd," head coach Eric Henderson. "I can't thank our supporters enough because they certainly give us a lot of confidence and a lot of energy. We got off to a great start and it was mostly because of them. Obviously in the first half, we had a little lull there, but that 7-0 run to end the half was really important for us and we got the momentum back. We played pretty well in the second half for the hard-earned victory. Derrin (Hansen) does a tremendous job with those guys (Omaha), so it was a good win for our program."

Down 7-5 early, SDSU charged ahead using a 16-1 run that ended with nine straight. Arians had nine during the spurt to put the Jacks ahead 21-8 midway through the first half.

Omaha inched back to within five (30-25) over the next five minutes, though, and with 2:56 on the clock hit a triple to tie it, 33-all. The Jackrabbits recovered momentum with a Wingett 3 soon after, though, and closed the half with seven unanswered to lead at the break, 40-33.
Omaha hit a bucket on the opening possession of the second half, but it was all SDSU from there.

A 12-1 run that included a scoreless Maverick drought of three-plus minutes helped the Jacks build a 52-36 lead with 15 minutes to play, and State's lead hit 20 (62-42) on two Freidel free throws at 10:21.

The teams settled into back-and-forth play down the stretch as South Dakota State pushed its home court record to 13-0 this season.

Opponent Last Time Out
DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball team couldn't use a late second-half to chase down Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday, falling 70-63 in Hamilton Gymnasium. Jase Townsend led the Pioneers with a team-high 15 points.

Robert Jones narrowly missed out on his second double-double this season, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Roscoe Eastmond added six points, six assists and five steals in the loss.

Brian Patrick and Deonte Billups each scored 15 points for PFW.

Both teams traded buckets to start the contest with Denver taking a 13-12 lead by the under-12 media timeout. Townsend started hot, getting six quick points for the Pioneers.

Purdue Fort Wayne separated with a 12-0 run coming out of the media timeout to push lead to nine at 24-13.

The Mastodons closed out the half, up 38-19.

Townsend finished the opening 20 minutes with nine points, a team best for DU.

The Crimson and Gold opened the second with a fast 6-0 run, forcing PFW to take a timeout just 2:07 into the period.

But Purdue Fort Wayne pushed lead back out to 22, its largest of the game, after a 3-pointer from Matt Holba made it 49-27.

Denver rallied back to get within six but couldn't get any closer from there.

Last Matchup: SDSU at Denver (1/8/20)
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.

-GoJacks.com-