Jacks cruise to Senior Day win

Saturday, February 25

Brookings, S.D.

4 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Denver

Photo by: Jason Salzman

2/25/2017 7:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Jacks finish .500 in conference play

South Dakota State men's basketball put on a show in its regular season finale, cruising to a 88-64 win over Denver Saturday at Frost Arena.

Playing in front 3,829 fans, the Jackrabbits (15-16, 8-8 Summit League) shot 56.9 percent from the field and hit 14 of 28 beyond the arc. DU (16-13, 8-8 Summit League) finished the day 25 of 60 (41.77 percent) from the field and had five 3-pointers.

Mike Daum led all scorers with 30 points as one of four Jackrabbits in double figures. Making his return to the starting lineup for the first time since Jan. 25, A.J. Hess finished with 14 points and sank 4 of 5 3-pointers while Chris Howell and Skyler Flatten each had 11 points. Reed Tellinghuisen was close behind and finished with eight points.

Tevin King paced the Jacks on the boards with eight rebounds while Daum had seven.

South Dakota State scored the first eight points of the game and never looked back, shaking off a pair of Denver rallies midway through both halves.

Ahead 16-9 inside the under-12 media, SDSU saw its lead cut to two (18-16) at 9:31 after a 9-2 Pioneer run. The Jacks recovered, however, with a 14-4 rally of their own to go up double figures after a Flatten 3-pointer closed the burst at 4:34.

State stretched its lead to as many as 17 late in the half before a pair of DU free throws with less than one second remaining sent SDSU to the locker room ahead 41-16.

The Jackrabbits grew their lead to 25 (66-41) through the opening nine minutes of the final period. Denver staged a push and crawled back within 15 (71-56) over the next five-plus minutes of action, but a quick five-point burst from the Jacks put the home team back up 20.

Near the three-minute mark, Denver looked for one last rally as it cut the lead to 17, but the Jacks outscored the Pioneers 9-2 the rest of the way to close out the win.

Head Coach T.J. Otzelberger
On season-ending win ...
"I think our guys have really been playing well for each other. I'm happy today, we won the rebounding battle, kept our turnovers down and really shared the basketball. A lot of guys stepped up and made big plays. It was a really great team effort."

Fan support and the upcoming Summit League tournament ...
"Our fans are phenomenal. They've been with us all year. We had a great turnout today and I really appreciate their support throughout the year, especially through the tough times. We're so excited to go down to Sioux Falls and make them proud, to see all those Jackrabbit fans down there and keep the season going as long as we can."

On Senior Day ...
"They've meant a lot. A.J. Hess is obviously a phenomenal shooter. He's been valuable to us throughout the year. He's been a guy that's put up big point totals and really helped score the ball. Michael Orris with his point guard skills, leadership and quarterback on the floor, I can't say enough about that and how far he's come. Both of those guys have been valuable to us, I'm sad to see them play their last game at Frost but I'm excited for what we can still accomplish."

Game Notes

Mike Daum's jumper at 16:15 in the first gave him 748 points for the year and set a new single-season scoring record at SDSU. Chris White's previous record of 747 stood for 25 years.
Graduate transfers Michael Orris and A.J. Hess were honored post-game along with managers Michael Merry and Jacob Johnson for Senior Day festivities.
SDSU will learn its Summit League Tournament seeding after all games finish Saturday evening. The Jacks will play on Sunday, March 5 as the 3, 4 or 5 seed.
Mike Daum reached 30 points for the 10th time this season.
Chris Howell scored in double figures seven times in the final eight games of the regular season.
Ian Theisen made his first appearance for the Jacks in the month of February after an injury caused him to miss the last six games.
South Dakota State won six of its final eight conference games.