JACKS RALLY TO BEAT WARRIORS IN FIELD OF 68 OPENING DAY MARATHON

Monday, November 3

Sioux Falls, S.D. (Sanford Pentagon)

8 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Merrimack

Matthew Mors

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

JACKS RALLY TO BEAT WARRIORS IN FIELD OF 68 OPENING DAY MARATHON

11/3/2025 11:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – South Dakota State nearly watched a second-half lead slip away, but a scoring run and clutch made shots late propelled the Jackrabbits to a 75-66 victory over Merrimack on Monday, Nov. 3, inside the Sanford Pentagon. The season-opening victory for SDSU came as a part of The Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon event.

SDSU and Merrimack were in a back-and-forth affair through a majority of the first half. It was a 30-30 contest with 3:18 left when the Jackrabbits got out on an 8-0 scoring run, with Matthew Mors recording five of those points, to put State ahead 38-30 in a two-and-a-half minute span.

The Jacks eventually took a 38-33 lead into the halftime break. SDSU was boosted by 17 points by Jaden Jackson as the sophomore guard went 5-for-5 from 3-point range.

South Dakota State opened the second half with four straight points to take its largest lead of the night. The Warriors didn't go away as their 2-3 zone started to cause havoc on the Jackrabbits.

SDSU went without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes, and managed just five free throws during the stretch, as the Jacks went down 52-47 with the clock dipping under eight minutes remaining.

The Jackrabbits trailed 54-49 went they began their game-changing run.

A pair of Mors free throws got the comeback started. Joe Sayler hit a jumper in the paint, then Jackson knifed in for a layup to help the Jacks re-gain the lead. Kalen Garry followed with a 3-pointer as the Jackrabbits' 9-0 run in a less-than-minute span put them ahead, 58-54, with less than five minutes to go.

Merrimack connected on a 3-pointer on its ensuing possession to make it a one-point game, but Garry responded with another trey. That was part of a stretch that saw the Jackrabbits score eight of the game's next nine points to put the game out of reach.

The Jackrabbits closed out the win to pick up a second straight season-opening win.

NOTES

South Dakota State outshot Merrimack 42-32% from the field. The Jackrabbits finished the night 7-for-18 (38.9%) from 3-point range. SDSU outrebounded Merrimack 44-31, though the Warriors won the turnover edge by a 14-11 margin.
Jackson scored a career-high 23 points on 8 of 18 shooting. He also had five rebounds and three assists.
Mors nearly registered a double-double. He scored 16 points to go along with nine rebounds. He also had three steals and two blocks. Damon Wilkinson scored 10 points and snagged seven rebounds. Garry also had seven rebounds as well as a team-high four assists.
The contest featured 10 lead changes and eight tie scores. SDSU led for over 23 minutes of the matchup.
The win was the first for Bryan Petersen as head coach of the South Dakota State program.

UP NEXT
South Dakota State returns home to play on Thursday. The Jackrabbits host Dakota State at 7 p.m. inside First Bank & Trust Arena.

-GoJacks.com-