TEAM EFFORT LIFTS JACKRABBITS OVER BEACONS - South Dakota State University Athletics

Wednesday, November 11

Brookings, S.D.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

3-0,0-0Summit League

Valparaiso

2-1,0-0MVC

Team	1	2	F
Valparaiso	32	37	69
South Dakota St.	49	32	81

Joe Sayler

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia Sports Media

11/11/2026 10:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

BROOKINGS, S.D. – South Dakota State guards Kalen Garry and Joe Sayler each scored 20-plus points as the Jackrabbits earned an 81-69 victory over Valparaiso on Wednesday inside First Bank & Trust Arena in front of 2,714 spectators.

South Dakota State and Valpo were within a possession through the opening 12 minutes before the Jackrabbits clamped down defensively. The Jacks held the Beacons without a field goal for over eight minutes. SDSU pushed its lead to double digits on a Semaj Stampley 3-pointer at the 6:10 mark of the first half.

An EJ Ryans 3-pointer as the clock dipped under a minute gave the Jackrabbits their largest lead of the game at 49-30. A pair of free throws for the Beacons cut the score to 49-32 at the halftime break.

SDSU shot 51.5% from the field in the opening 20 minutes while holding Valpo to a 28.6% clip. The Jacks were also 6 of 11 from 3-point range and turned the ball over just once.

The Beacons cut into the deficit early in the first half. A Rakim Chaney 3-pointer got Valpo within 10 points as the Jackrabbits' advantage was 56-46 with 12:31 remaining. Valpo's Sader Servilus made a second-chance layup to cut the margin into single digits for the first time in the second half as the clock went past the 10-minute mark.

A layup by Garry on the next possession pushed SDSU's lead back into double digits. The SDSU senior eventually scored 10 straight points for the Jackrabbits. An eight-point scoring run, capped by a Sayler jumper, put the game out of reach as SDSU led 74-55 with 4:23 to play.

South Dakota State improved to 3-0 on the season with the victory. Valparaiso was handed its first defeat as the Beacons fell to 2-1. The two teams were recently ranked 18th and 19th, respectively, in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 rankings.

The Jackrabbits outshot the Beacons 45.6-37.7% from the floor. SDSU hit 8-for-20 behind the 3-point line, while Valpo went 6-for-20. The Jacks closed the game out at the charity stripe and finished 21 of 26 (80.8%) on free throws.

SDSU had four players score in double digits. Garry recorded a game-high 21 points and Sayler followed with 20. Jon Mekonnen added 12 points while Ryans scored 11 points, his most in his time in Yellow and Blue. Ryans also dished out a team-high four assists.

Valparaiso had three players score in double digits led by Carter Hopoi. The Beacons' forward scored 16 points and had nine rebounds. Chaney, who scored 35 points at Purdue this past Friday, was held to 12 points on 4-for-12 shooting.

NOTES

Garry recorded his eighth 20-plus point game of his college career. He sits at 999 career points in his time as a Jackrabbit following Wednesday's contest. Sayler registered his 13th 20-plus point game of his career.
Alec Squires made his season debut after missing the first two games. He scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.
Davis Kern led SDSU with a career-high three blocks. He also had a career-high three assists.
South Dakota State is now 3-1 all-time against Valparaiso.
SDSU's 3-0 start of the season is its first since the 2019-20 season. The Jackrabbits' best start in the past decade was the 2015-16 slate that saw that team open the season with a 6-0 record.

UP NEXT
South Dakota State travels to Rapid City to take on Northern Colorado in The Monument. The Jackrabbits and Bears are slated for a 3 p.m. CT tipoff inside Summit Arena. Tickets are available online now on The Monument's ticket page.

-GoJacks.com-