Jacks Survive Late TCU Run

Saturday, November 21

Fort Worth, Texas

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

TCU

11/21/2015 6:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: SDSU Sports Info

FORT WORTH, Texas – South Dakota State saw its 22 point second half lead nearly evaporate before its very eyes on Saturday at TCU, but the Jackrabbits regained their composure and made the big shots late to hang on for a 76-67 win over the Horned Frogs at Wilkerson-Greines Athletic Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Jackrabbits third-ever win over a Big 12 school boosts their record to a perfect 4-0 on the season, while the home standing Horned Frogs fall to 2-1.

"We weren't very good tonight. We were so bothered by the number of second chance points that we gave them, 12 offensive rebounds in the first half. We could've been up 20 points, we really should've been. So we go in the locker room (at halftime) and nobody is really celebrating because it just didn't feel very good the way were playing," head coach Scott Nagy said. "The second half we got it going, but we got tight, and they turned it up, but I told our kids in a timeout that this is good for us; we need this, we need to feel this pressure because we haven't been in a game like this, we haven't been in a game when it's tight, now we'll see who the experienced guys are and who will make plays for us and our kids did that in the end."

TCU scored the first five points of the game, but minutes later, the Jacks used an 8-0 run to take a 15-11 lead that they would not relinquish, a run that stretched into a 28-14 run, and ended with SDSU leading 35-25 with just under seven minutes left in the first half.

Up by as many as 13 points the opening frame, SDSU took an 11 point, 43-32 lead into the locker room at halftime.

With less than five minutes off of the second half clock, the Jackrabbits increased their lead to a high of 22 points, at 55-33, but TCU responded in a big way, using an 11-0 run, part of a 17-1 run that cut the SDSU lead to 56-50 with just over eight minutes to play.

SDSU bounced back though, and got a Jake Bittle layup, a stop and a 3-pointer from George Marshall to get the lead back to 11 points with 5:47 remaining, and even though TCU cut the lead down to three points two more times, the Jackrabbits responded every time and escaped with the win.

Deondre Parks led four Jackrabbits in double figures with 21 points; Mike Daum added 17 off the bench, Marshall finished with 12 and Reed Tellinghuisen 11 points in the win. Daum also led the Jacks with eight rebounds.

Malique Trent led the Horned Frogs with 18 points, with Brandon Parrish adding 17 and Vlad Brodziansky 11 points in the loss. Devonta Abron led all players in the game with 12 rebounds to go with his 8 points.

SDSU looks to continue their hot start on Tuesday, when they take on Houston Baptist in the first of two games in Cancun, Mexico. The Jacks and Huskies tip at 3 p.m. ET, 2 p.m. CT.

NOTES: Saturday's game marked the first meeting between the Jackrabbits and Horned Frogs, and the second of two stateside games in the Cancun Challenge … the teams played in front of an announced crowd of 4,193 fans at Wilkerson-Greines Athletic Center, a high school gym in Fort Worth that serves as a temporary home for the Horned Frogs until the completion of Schollmaier Arena renovations on the campus of TCU … SDSU improves to 3-33 all-time against Big 12 opponents, with the last win coming at Iowa State on Dec. 23, 2008, by the score of 65-58 … the first win over a Big 12 foe came against Oklahoma State on Dec. 15, 1931 by the score of 42-20 in Brookings … SDSU last opened the season with four straight wins in 2010-11, when the Jacks won their first six games … the win snapped TCU's 20-game non-conference winning streak … TCU scored 12 second chance points in the first half and 22 for the game, compared to SDSU's 9 in the first half and 13 for the game … Parks scored at least 20 points for the first time this season and for the fifth time in his career