Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Mayville State (Exhibition) on October 29, 2025 at 8:30 p.m.
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8:30 p.m.
Men's Basketball
vs Mayville State (Exhibition)
South Dakota State University Athletics
Jacks welcome Bulls for BracketBusters
2/17/2012 3:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Every Jackrabbit made at least one field goal in the win over NDSU on Wednesday, but Nate Wolters stole the show in the blowout of the Bison.
Wolters scored 22 points in the first half, and then added eight more, in as many minutes, in the second half to lead SDSU to its first season sweep of the Bison in the Division I era.
"Nate's a great player. He was very efficient tonight, and the fact that he made a couple of jumps shots really made him hard to guard," head coach Scott Nagy said after the game. "If he's making jump shots, he's nearly impossible to guard."
The Jackrabbits first win over the Bison in Brookings since the 2005-06 season boosts their record to 21-7 overall, 13-3 in The Summit League, and in conjunction with an Oral Roberts win at IPFW on Wednesday, locks the Jacks into the No. 2 seed at The Summit League Championships next month in Sioux Falls. North Dakota State falls to 16-10 overall and 9-7 in league play.
South Dakota State used an early 15-3 run to turn a 5-4 lead into a 20-7 lead with 8 minutes and 24 seconds left in the first half, and then closed the half on a 10-2 run that put the Jacks up 43-24 at intermission. Wolters scored his 22 first half points on 10-of-13 shooting, with three assists and three steals, all of which resulted in layups.
SDSU kept it rolling in the second half, pushing the lead to as many as 32 points at 68-36 on a Zach Monaghan layup with 9:49 left in the game.
The Jackrabbits, who committed a season-low three turnovers in the win, capitalized on 11 NDSU turnovers in the first half for 17 points, and turned 16 Bison miscues into 24 points for the game. NDSU scored a total of five points on the Jacks three turnovers.
SDSU shot 55.8 percent from the field on 29-of-52 shooting and held the Bison to 41.1 percent on 23-of-56 shooting for the night, but the Jacks lost the rebounding battle 36-24, including a 15-5 edge for the visitors on the offensive glass.
Wolters' 30 points on 14-of-18 shooting led all scorers in the game. He also added game-highs with five assists and with three steals in just 28 minutes. Jordan Dykstra scored 15 points and tied with Marcus Heemstra to lead the Jacks with five rebounds.
RABBITS ON THE RADIO - Originated from the AM 570 WNAX studios in Yankton, S.D., SDSU men's basketball games can be heard on a total of five stations throughout South Dakota on the Jackrabbit Sports Network.
- 570 AM - WNAX - Yankton
- 910 AM - KJJQ "The Ranch" - Brookings
- 1060 AM - KGFX - Pierre
- 950 AM KWAT or 96.9 FM KDLO - Watertown
- 99.5 FM - KRKI - Rapid City
Pierre, S.D., native Tyler Merriam takes over the play-by-play duties in 2011-12, replacing six-time winner of the South Dakota Associated Press Sportscaster of the Year and 1998 National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association South Dakota Sportscaster of the Year, Steve Imming, who retired in 2011.
THE JACKRABBIT EXTRA ON GoJacks.com - Subscribers to the Jackrabbit Extra on GoJacks.com watch every Jackrabbit home game and select road games streaming live on the internet. That select list includes Saturday's game at Western Illinois. In addition, subscribers can listen to every game, home and on the road, streaming live on the internet.
To learn more about the Jackrabbit Extra, or to subscribe, log onto GoJacks.com and click on "SIGN UP NOW"
THE JACKRABBIT BASKETBALL RADIO SHOW - Hosted by Tyler Merriam live from Cubby's Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Brookings, the show airs on Tuesdays from 6-7 p.m., and can be heard live on the Jackrabbit Sports Network. Subscribers to the Jackrabbit Extra on GoJacks.com can also listen to the broadcasts streaming live on the Internet.
The hour-long show features 30 minutes with SDSU men's head coach Scott Nagy and 30 minutes with Jackrabbit women's coach Aaron Johnston.
ESPNU TELEVISES SEARS BRACKETBUSTERS AT FROST ARENA - The South Dakota State men's basketball team learned on Jan. 30 that they would host the University at Buffalo Bulls in the SEARS BracketBusters today live on ESPNU.
The game between the Jackrabbits and Bulls not only marks the first meeting between the two teams, but it also marks the first-ever nationally televised game from Frost Arena.
THE JACKRABBIT INSIDER ON FOX - Fans of SDSU Athletics can get a weekly behind-the-scenes look at all 21 Jackrabbit varsity sports teams by tuning into "The Jackrabbit Insider."
Hosted by Tyler Merriam, the show airs on Sundays on KTTW FOX 17 at 10:30 p.m., and can also be seen on Fox Sports North at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays.
JACKS POST FIRST 20-WIN SEASON AT DIVISON I - The South Dakota State Men's Basketball team beat UMKC 75-62 on Feb. 11, for their 20th win of the season, and first at the Division I level. The program now boasts 20 seasons with at least 20 wins, nine of which came during the Scott Nagy era, with the last being a school-record 27 win season in 2003-04, the program's final season in Division II.
WOLTERS CLIMBS THE 1,000-POINT CLUB LADDER - Nate Wolters became the 42nd member of the SDSU 1,000-Point Club in a win over Sam Houston State on Nov. 22, and instantly began the climb up the all time list. Wolters enters today's game with 1,495 career points, good for sixth all-time at SDSU, 11 points shy of passing former teammate Clint Sargent (1,505 points from 2007-11) for fifth all-time.
WOLTERS NEARS SDSU JUNIOR SCORING RECORD - Wolters enters today's game averaging 21.8 points per game with a total of 588 points so far this season, 46 points shy of breaking the junior scoring record at SDSU of 633 points. With a spot in The Summit League Championships already secure, he would need to average 11.5 points per game over the next four games to break the record, set by Chris White in 1990-91.
WOLTERS CHASES ALL-TIME SCORING RECORD - Nate Wolters scored 907 points in his first two years as a Jackrabbit, including the SDSU sophomore record with 604 points. His 588 points this season gives him 1,495 career points, leaving him 437 points shy of the record of 1,931, set by Mark Tetzlaff from 1981-85.
HOT IN FROST - In addition to a perfect 11-0 record at home this season, the Jacks enter today's game riding a 14-game home winning streak.
MORE THAN JUST A SCORER - In addition to his scoring prowess, Nate Wolters continues his climb up the all-time assists charts at SDSU. His 188 assists as a sophomore last year represents the third best single-season total in SDSU history, his 162 this season ranks ninth best for a single season, and his 436 career assists ranks third all-time at SDSU, putting him well on pace to break the all-time mark of 605 assists, set by Brian Norberg from 1995-99.
NOT JUST NATE - Nate Wolters leads the Jacks with 21.8 points per game and reached double figures in all 27 games he played in this season, but he gets plenty of help. In addition to Wolters' 27 games in double figures, the Jackrabbits combined for 72 double-figure performances this season in 28 games. At least four Jackrabbits scored 10 points in the same game 13 times this season, with five players reaching double figures five times and six players once.
CALLAHAN FOR THREE - SDSU's lone senior Griffan Callahan entered the season with 88 career three-pointers and a season-high of 55, set last year as a junior. Callahan enters today's game with 65 threes this season for a career total of 153, good for sixth all-time at SDSU. In addition to the career total, Callahan hit a career-high seven three-pointers at Nebraska on Nov. 26, which ties him for third all-time at SDSU in a single game, something his older brother Garrett did twice.
IN THE MERRY OLD LAND OF OZ - The Jackrabbits beat major conference foes Iowa State in 2008 and Iowa in 2010, but neither the Big 12 Cyclones nor the Big Ten Hawkeyes entered those games with a 32 game non-conference winning streak at home or entered those seasons after making three-straight NCAA Tournament Appearances. The Pac 12's Washington Huskies brought both of those credential into their game with the Jackrabbits on Dec. 18, and while they still may make their four straight NCAA Tournament, the Jacks snapped the Huskies 32 game non-conference home winning streak with a convincing 92-73 win at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, Wash.
Nate Wolters led the Jackrabbits with a season-high 34 points, adding five rebounds, seven assists and no turnovers. Four other Jackrabbits also scored in double figures, led by Griffan Callahan with 16 points. Chad White finished with 12 points, all of which came from beyond the three-point line; Jordan Dykstra added 11 and Tony Fiegen 10 points in the win.
JACKS FALL OUT OF MID-MAJOR TOP-25 - After cracking the collegeinsider.com Mid Major Top-25 for the first time this season at No. 25 on Dec. 19. The Jacks moved up to No. 23 in the poll released on Dec. 26, and moved up to No. 21 in the Jan. 2 poll, but fell out of the poll to receiving votes in the next four polls. The Jacks climbed back into the poll on Feb. 6, at No. 22, only to fall out of the poll completely in the poll released on Feb. 13.
NAGY NOTCHES 300th CAREER WIN - Already the most prolific coach in SDSU history, head coach Scott Nagy entered the 2011-12 season with 289 wins, just 11 shy of reaching the 300-win milestone, which he reached in the Jackrabbits 94-58 win over IPFW on Dec. 28. Nagy enters today's game with a 310-197 career record and a .611 winning percentage.
NAGY TEAMS WITH SAMARITANS FEET - Head coach Scott Nagy teamed up with Samaritan's Feet in each of the last three seasons to raise money and shoes for children around the world, including Haiti, and the cause really hits home for Nagy and his family, especially after a major earthquake shook the country on Jan. 12, 2010.
"My wife Jamie and I adopted our daughter Naika from Haiti, so we've seen first-hand the need for shoes there," Nagy said.
Nagy raised over $6,000 for the relief efforts in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake, and then took it to another level last season, when the entire Jackrabbit coaching staff coached in their bare feet against IPFW on Jan. 22, to raise money for shoes and shelters in Zimbabwe.
Nagy made it four years in a row this season when he coached barefoot in an 85-58 win over UMKC in Frost Arena on Jan. 14.
Jackrabbit fans can play their part again in 2012 by logging onto Go.Jacks.com and clicking on the banner at the top of the page to make a difference in a child's life.
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
Buffalo Bulls (16-7, 9-3 MAC, 6-6 Away) - Kent State snapped the Bulls eight game winning streak on Tuesday with a 76-71 win in Kent, Ohio. The loss dropped Buffalo to third in the Mid-American Conference standings in the tougher East Division with a 9-3 record, a record that would put the Bulls in first place of the MAC West by three games.
The Jacks and Bulls share a pair of common opponents this season in Western Michigan and Niagara. Buffalo beat Niagara on the road, 82-74, on Dec. 7, and beat Western Michigan last week on Feb. 11, 59-57 at home. The Jacks opened the season with an 82-76 home win over WMU on Nov. 12, and then beat Niagara 79-71 on Nov. 21, at the CBE Classic, in Macon, Ga.Javon McCrea leads a trio of Bulls in double figures with 15.6 points per game, and ranks second on the team with 7.4 rebounds per game. Mitchell Watt leads the team with 7.8 rebounds per game and with 61 blocks to go along with his 15.0 points per game. Zach Filzen averages 12.1 points per game and leads the Bulls with 70 three-pointers this season.
The Series vs. Buffalo - First Meeting
The Last Time Out: Feb. 14, 2012, at Kent State - The Buffalo men's basketball team (16-7, 9-3 MAC) was unable to overcome a streaky-shooting Kent State team (19-6, 9-3 MAC) that hit 59 percent of its shots in the second half and seven three pointers. That helped the home team erase an eight-point halftime lead by Buffalo and pull out a 76-71 win on Tuesday night to snap the Bulls' eight-game winning streak. Zach Filzen led all scorers with 20 points and Mitchell Watt added 16 points and nine rebounds.
"We didn't have a good start to the second half and that hurt us," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "We fought our way back and got through it. But as usual, you can't come in here and be just a couple points better."
The first half lived up to all the hype, with the two teams displaying tenacious defense and offenses that blew up and down the court. Neither team led by more than nine in the first 20 minutes, and Buffalo's biggest lead of the half would come thanks to a Jarod Oldham jumper with four seconds left to put them up by eight, 39-31. After pouring in 14 first-half points against Kent State last season, Filzen was again the focal point of the offense, scoring 17 points on 6-9 from the floor and 4-7 from long distance. Buffalo held the Flashes to just 32 percent from the field (9-28) but could not carry the stout defense into the second half.
Kent State jumped out to 14 points before the first media time out, cutting the Buffalo lead to just one, 46-45, and then the Flashes cruised to a 10-0 run that gave them a 57-48 lead with 10:48 to play. The Bulls would provide a 13-0 run in just under three minutes to hit back and claim a 61-57 lead thanks to threes from Dave Barnett and Tony Watson and a three-point play from Watt. Kent State again used the three ball to retake the lead, this time for good, with Michael Porrini hitting two three pointers and Randal Holt adding his second and third threes of the night, his final three to provide the dagger with 1:31 to play that gave Kent a 73-68 lead.
NEXT UP FOR THE JACKRABBITS - The Jacks close the regular season at home next week, starting with Western Illinois on Thursday at 7 p.m. on Military Appreciation Night, followed by the regular season finale against IUPUI on Saturday in the Corduroy Classic at 7:30 p.m.
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