Callahan leads Jacks to win in Cancun

Sunday, November 30

Cancun, Mexico

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Central Arkansas

Jackrabbits down IPFW for first Summit League win

11/30/2008 1:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: SDSU Sports Info

CANCUN, Mexico - Garrett Callahan scored a game-high 21 points, including some clutch free throws down the stretch to secure a 72-67 South Dakota State win over Central Arkansas on Sunday in the Jackrabbits final game at the Cancun Challenge.

The Jackrabbits improve to 3-4 with the win, while the Bears fall to 3-3.

In addition to his game-high 21 points, Callahan tied a career-high in steals for the second straight game with four. Kai Williams contributed a season-high 20 points and added a game-high 11 rebounds in the win. Clint Sargent added 15 points and, along with Callahan, went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.

Central Arkansas started the game on a 7-0 run, only to see the Jackrabbits erase it with a 13-1 run. The Bears would quickly battle their way back into the game and trailed only 31-29 at the half.

SDSU held on to the lead at the start of the second half, but UCA kept fighting and eventually took the lead. The Jacks stayed with it though, and thanks to some hot shooint by Callahan and Williams, the Jacks retook the lead midway through the half and never let it go.

The Bears did cut the lead to two-points on a couple of trips down the floor, but Callahan and Sargent made their free throws down to stretch to secure the win.

The Jacks struggled to shoot 37 percent (10-of-27) in the first half, but came on strong in the second half to shoot 54 percent (13-of-24), which includes a 4-for-8 effort from three-point range.

Central Arkansas shot 42 percent (11-of-26) in the first half, and 50 percent (13-of-26) in the second half.

The Jackrabbits return to action and start Summit League play on Thursday, when they host Centenary in the back end of a doubleheader. The SDSU women tip-off at 5 p.m., with the men to follow at 7:30 p.m.