DEFENSIVE EFFORT CARRIES JACKS IN VICTORY OVER BEARS - South Dakota State University Athletics

Saturday, November 14

Rapid City, S.D. (The Monument)

3 p.m.

South Dakota State University

4-0,0-0Summit League

Northern Colorado

2-2,0-0Big Sky

Team	1	2	F
Northern Colo.	17	29	46
South Dakota St.	28	43	71

Photo by: Ben Helland

11/14/2026 6:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

RAPID CITY, S.D. – South Dakota State stymied Northern Colorado in The Monument on Saturday, Nov. 14, en route to a 71-46 victory for the Jackrabbits against the Bears in a neutral-site men's basketball matchup.

The first half featured a defensive stalemate between the two sides. The Bears led in the early going, but the Jackrabbits responded with a 12-0 scoring run. A Kalen Garry 3-pointer broke up a one-possession score and a pair of Jon Mekonnen free throws gave SDSU a 14-8 edge as the clock ticked under eight minutes.

Two free throws converted by SDSU's EJ Ryans put the Jacks ahead by double digits with 2:33 remaining in the half. South Dakota State eventually took a 28-17 advantage into halftime.

The Jackrabbits were outshot by the Bears by a 27-26% margin, however SDSU took advantage of a 24-16 edge on the boards. SDSU was also 9-for-9 at the free throw line to Northern Colorado's 4-for-6 clip.

Northern Colorado stuck with South Dakota State for the first four minutes of the second. The Jacks broke the game open at that point.

A 12-2 scoring stretch in a less-than-four minute span, in favor of SDSU, put the Jackrabbits up 49-25 with 11:37 to play. Northern Colorado was never able to get the margin within 20 points again. The Jacks went up by 27 on a Youssouf Yatabare layup for SDSU's largest lead of the game. A set of free throws made by the Bears with 35 seconds remaining closed out the game's proceedings.

SDSU outshot Northern Colorado 47-26% in the second half.

The Jackrabbits improved to 4-0 on the season with the win. The Bears dropped to 2-2.

South Dakota State outrebounded Northern Colorado by a 53-33 margin. SDSU's 53 rebounds matches its most rebounds ever against a Division I opponent tying two other instances. The Bears were held to just 26.5% shooting from the field. SDSU's 46 points given up are the least to a Division I opponent since Jan. 31, 2015, in a 69-39 victory against Denver.

The Jacks had three double-digit scorers in Mekonnen (14), Ryans (13) and Joe Sayler (10). Eleven Jackrabbits made the score column including Cam Swearengen, Myles Thompson, Semaj Stampley, Blake Ellwein and Davis Kern. Mekonnen grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to complete his first-career double-double performance. Al Squires had eight points and eight rebounds. Sayler had a season-high six assists.

Northern Colorado was led in scoring by Andrew Crawford (16) and Hunter Caldwell (13). Big Sky Conference Preseason MVP Langston Reynolds was held to four points on 1 of 5 from the field.

NOTES

South Dakota State improved to 38-20 all-time against Northern Colorado. The Jackrabbits avenged a 78-69 defeat to the Bears two years to the date in The Monument during the 2024-25 season.
Garry's field goal at the 14:59 mark of the first half led the SDSU guard to surpassing 1,000 career points in his college career. He became the 54th Jackrabbit in program history to score 1,000 points.
SDSU's 4-0 record is its best start to a season since 2015-16. That season the Jackrabbits began the year 6-0.

UP NEXT
South Dakota State returns to Brookings for its next contest. The Jackrabbits host Mayville State in First Bank & Trust Arena at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16.

-GoJacks.com-