Jacks reach milestone in win at UMKC

Saturday, February 11

Kansas City, Mo.

7:00 PM

South Dakota State University

UMKC

Carlson leads Jacks to 80-65 win at IUPUI

2/11/2012 11:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: SDSU Sports Info

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - South Dakota State overcame a slow start and an early nine point deficit to get back on the winning track with a 75-62 win over UMKC on Saturday at Swinney Recreation Center in Kansas City, thus giving SDSU its first 20-win season at the Division I level.

"Even though we had a slow start, I think the guys did a good job getting back into the game," head coach Scott Nagy said after the win, which marks his ninth 20-win season at SDSU. " We gave up 15 points in the first five minutes, we were awful, and then we gave up 14 in the next 15 minutes, so the defense picked up and got better. "

The host Kangaroos, who fall to 10-17 overall and 4-11 in The Summit League, made their first four shots, and got some help with two early SDSU turnovers, in building a 12-4 lead with less than four minutes off the clock.

The Jacks, who improve to 20-7 overall and 12-3 in the league, would battle back to tie the game at 23 on a Jordan Dykstra three-pointer with 8:44 left in the first half. The Kangaroos would get the lead back on a Kirk Korver three, but a Brayden Carlson three-pointer and a Nate Wolters layup put the Jacks up for good at 28-26, and sparked a 15-2 SDSU run that included a layup, and one, and a three-pointer, and one, for Carlson, and ended with the Jacks up 41-28 before taking a 41-29 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Jacks then opened the second half on a 9-2 run to take a commanding 50-31 lead, and never let the 'Roos get any closer than 11 points for the rest of the game, and that only came with 28 seconds left in the game, with the outcome long since decided.

Wolters led four Jackrabbits in double figures with a game-high 20 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Dykstra finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, Carlson added 15 points and Griffan Callahan 12 points in the win.

Reggie Chamberlain led a trio of Kangaroos in double figures with 17 points. Trinity Hall finished with 14 and Nate Rogers 12 points in the loss.

The Jackrabbits return to action on Wednesday, when they host North Dakota State in Frost Arena at 7 p.m. The Jacks then set their sights on Buffalo, who they play in the SEARS Bracket Busters on Saturday on ESPNU, in the first-ever nationally televised game from Frost Arena. The Jacks and Bulls tipoff at noon, before the SDSU women host North Dakota State at 3 p.m.

NOTES: The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series with UMKC 8-5, with a 4-3 record in Kansas City and a 2-0 record at Swinney Recreation Center on the UMKC campus ... the Jackrabbits and Kangaroos played in front of an announced crowd of 1,231 fans ... the win gives SDSU its first 20-win season at the Division I level, its 20th in the history of the program and the ninth for head coach Scott Nagy ... at least four Jackrabbits scored in double figures for the seventh time this season ... Wolters moved from eighth on the all-time scoring list to seventh with 1,465 career points, passing former teammate Garrett Callahan (1,465 points from 2006-10) ... the win allows the Jacks to avoid their first back-to-back losses since they lost at Minnesota on Nov. 14, and at Georgia on Nov. 16 in the second and third games of the season