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
Jackrabbits head south for final road trip
2/8/2012 3:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
South Dakota State returns to the road this week for the final time this regular season with games at South Dakota and at UMKC on the slate. The Jackrabbits and Coyotes start the week on Thursday at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, before the Jacks head farther south to Kansas City on Saturday to take on the Kangaroos. Both games begin at 7 p.m.
The Jackrabbits return to the road for the final time after sweeping a home stand last week, with a 75-60 win over Oral Roberts on Thursday and a 66-56 win over Southern Utah on Saturday.
SDSU opened Thursday's game against Oral Roberts on a 15-2 run and never trailed again in handing the Golden Eagles their first league loss of the season, 75-60, in front of a boisterous crowd of 4,255 fans at Frost Arena.
Jordan Dykstra led the Jackrabbits with seven rebounds, five of them offensive boards, and scored 22 points. Nate Wolters led the way with a game-high 24 points and a game-high nine assists. Tony Fiegen scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds, two of them on offense.
Roderick Pearson and Warren Niles led the Golden Eagles with 14 points apiece. Dominique Morrison scored 12 points before fouling out with 4:57 remaining in the game. Steven Roundtree also scored 12 points to go along with his game-high eight rebounds.
SDSU battled through 12 ties and 12 lead changes on Saturday against Southern Utah, but a 31 point night by Wolters and a six-point trip down the floor paved the way for a 66-56 win in the 40th Annual Pork Classic.
Trailing 38-36 after a Damon Heuir three-pointer with 12:31 to play, Griffan Callahan got fouled after a made three-point basket to put the Jacks up 39-38 with 12:05 on the clock. That gave the Jacks the ball with a chance to add to the lead, which Wolters did when he made a layup, and one, to put SDSU on top 42-38 with 11:51 left in the game.
Along with Wolters' 31, only Callahan joined him in double figures with 10 points. Marcus Heemstra finished with a career-high nine points off the bench in 21 minutes. Chad White scored the Jacks other seven points off the bench.
Ray Jones, Jr. scored 18 points to lead the T-birds. Ramell Taylor added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Heuir and Matt Massey both finished with eight points in the loss.
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 TO TELEVISE SEARS BRACKETBUSTERS AT FROST ARENA - The South Dakota State men's basketball team learned on Monday that they host the University at Buffalo Bulls in the SEARS BracketBusters on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 12 p.m. live on ESPNU.
Buffalo currently ranks third in the MAC East Division with a 14-6 overall record and a 7-2 record in conference play, while the Jackrabbits rank second in The Summit League standings with a 19-6 overall record and an 11-2 mark in league play.
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 BACK IN 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.
WOLTERS CLIMBS THE 1,000-POINT CLUB LADDER - Junior 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 tonight's game with 1,387 career points, good for 12th all-time at SDSU. Wolters needs eight points to crack the top-10 and 13 points to move to ninth on the all-time list.
WOLTERS CHASES SCORING RECORD - Nate Wolters scored 907 points in his first two years as a Jackrabbit, including the SDSU sophomore record with 604 points. Double that two-year point total, and it does not appear that he entered his junior season on pace to break the all-time SDSU scoring record of 1,931 points, but if he averages 512 points per season over his last two years, the record, set by Mark Tetzlaff from 1981-85, would indeed fall.
MORE THAN JUST A SCORER - In addition to his scoring prowess, Nate Wolters continues is 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, and his 422 career assists ranks third all-time at SDSU and puts 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 21.3 points per game and reached double figures in all 24 games he played in this season, but he gets plenty of help. In addition to Wolters' 24 games in double figures, the Jackrabbits combined for 66 double-figure performances this season in 25 games. At least four Jackrabbits scored 10 points in the same game 12 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 last year as a junior. Callahan enters the week with 60 threes this season for a career total of 148, 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.
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 the week with a 308-196 career record and a .611 winning percentage.
20-WIN SEASON IN SIGHT - The South Dakota State Men's Basketball program boasts 19 seasons with at least 20 wins, eight of which came during the Scott Nagy era, with the last being a school-record 27 win season in 2003-04, the program's last season in Division II.
The Jackrabbits can make that 20 seasons overall with at least 20 wins, and give Nagy is ninth 20-win season at SDSU with one more win.
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 OPPONENTS
South Dakota Coyotes (8-14, 3-10 Summit, 5-4 Home) - In their final year of the Division I transition and in their first year in The Summit League, the Coyotes welcome the Jackrabbits to Vermillion for the first time since the 2004 season after downing UMKC last Saturday in the DakotaDome. The win gives South Dakota its first-ever Summit League season sweep over a team and snaps a three-game losing streak.
Charlie Westbrook leads the Coyotes into the final weeks of the season with an 1ven 18 points per game, and adds 4.0 rebounds, 20 blocks and a team-high 44 steals. Louie Krogman Averages 14.9 points per game and leads the team with 77 assists. Trevor Gruis averages 10.9 points and ranks second on the team with 5.9 rebounds per game. Ricardo Andreotti averages just 3.7 points per game, but leads the way with 6.9 rebounds per game, despite averaging just 23.6 minutes.
The Series vs. South Dakota - The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series 116-87-1 after beating the Coyotes 86-56 in the first meeting of the season on Jan. 12. South Dakota leads the all-time series in Vermillion 47-30, including a 78-63 win in the last meeting in the DakotaDome on Feb. 28, 2004.
The Last Meeting: Jan. 12, 2012, Frost Arena - SDSU opened its first game against South Dakota since 2004 on a 17-4 run, led by 29 points at the half and never let the visiting Coyotes get closer than 26 points for the rest of the game in an 86-56 win in front of a sellout crowd of 6,216 at Frost Arena.
The Jackrabbits led by as many as 37 points in the second half before emptying the bench, which allowed every Jackrabbit to score at least one field goal in the game.
Griffan Callahan led a trio of Jackrabbits in double figures with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, which includes a 5-for-8 night from three-point range. Nate Wolters added 13 points with six rebounds and five assists. Tony Fiegen finished with 10 points
Louie Krogman led the visiting Coyotes with 15 points in a losing effort. Trevor Gruis added 14 points and eight rebounds. Ricardo Andreotti scored seven points and led all players with 13 rebounds.
The Jackrabbits shot 53 percent in the first half on 18-of-34 shooting, but cooled off a bit in the second half to shoot 42 percent on 13-of-31 shooting for a game total of 48 percent.
The Coyotes came out cold to shoot 24 percent in the first half before shooting 40 percent in the second half for a game total of 32 percent on 19-of-59 shooting for the night.
SDSU also won the rebounding battle 42-39 and the turnover battle as well, committing just seven miscues, compared to 15 by the visitors.
UMKC Kangaroos (9-16, 3-10 Summit, 5-4 Home) - Picked to finish seventh in The Summit League preseason poll, the Kangaroos enter the week at the bottom of the league standings after falling at South Dakota last week. UMKC started the season just 1-4, but won six of its next seven games to get back over the .500 mark at 7-5. The 'Roos went on to drop its next eight games overall and 11 of its last 13 games, thus putting any hopes of playing in The Summit League Championships next month in serious danger.
Reggie Chamberlain leads the struggling Kangaroos with 17.0 points per game, and ranks second on the team with 65 assists and with 22 steals. Trinity Hall ranks second on the team with 10.7 points and with 4.1 rebounds per game. Thomas Staton averages 8.2 points per game, but leads the team with 42 steals and with 19 blocks.
The Series vs. UMKC - The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series 7-5, with wins five of the last six meetings., including a 91-71 win in the last game played in Kansas City on Dec. 30, 2010.
The Last Meeting: Jan. 14, 2012, Frost Arena - SDSU used first half runs of 10-0 and 12-2 and a second half run of 28-5 to run past UMKC by a final score of 85-58 at Frost Arena in the 20th Annual Lamb Bonanza.
The Jackrabbits used the first two runs to gain a 40-18 halftime lead, while the second half run gave them a 42 point lead that allowed head coach Scott Nagy to give every non-starter at least 12 minutes of playing time.
Taévaunn Prince led five Jackrabbits in double figures by tying a career-high with 16 points in playing 24 minutes off the bench, including a perfect 8-for-8 night at the free throw line. Nate Wolters and Jordan Dykstra both scored 15 points, with Wolters adding five rebounds and five assists. Dykstra got his 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor, which includes a perfect 2-for-2 effort from long distance.
Chad White capped a perfect 4-for-4 night from the floor, and from the free throw line, with 13 points, with one three-pointer, while Griffan Callahan finished with 11 points.
Brayden Carlson scored five points, but added four assists and a game-high seven rebounds, as the Jacks won the rebounding battle 41-23.
Thomas Staton and Reggie Chamberlain both finished with 11 points to lead the Kangaroos, who fall to 7-13 overall and 1-7 in The Summit League.
NEXT UP FOR THE JACKRABBITS - The Jackrabbits return home for their final four games of the regular season, starting with a game against North Dakota State on Wednesday at 7 p.m., followed by matchup against Buffalo in the SEARS BracketBusters on Saturday at noon, in a game that can be seen live on ESPNU.
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