Men's hoops faces North Dakota Wednesday

Wednesday, January 15

Brookings, S.D.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

North Dakota

Tickets

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

1/13/2020 3:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

GAME 21: South Dakota State (13-7, 4-1) vs. North Dakota (8-10, 2-2)

When	Wednesday, Jan. 15 \| 7 p.m.
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, S.D.
Live Audio / Radio	Jackrabbits All-Access \| Jackrabbit Sports Network I WNAX 570 AM \| Tyler Merriam
Television / Live Video	Midco Sports Network \| ESPN+ \| Jackrabbits All-Access \| Tom Nieman, Brad Newitt & Elaina Lanson
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

Previewing the Game
South Dakota State returns to Frost Arena for a brief stop this week, hosting North Dakota Wednesday. Tipoff with the Fighting Hawks is set for 7 p.m.

Wednesday's game is sponsored by Farm Credit Services of America

The Jackrabbits (13-7, 4-1 Summit League) have opened 2020 with four consecutive wins, averaging 84.2 points per game in the new year with three double-digit victories.

North Dakota (8-10, 2-2 Summit League) has dropped two straight, most recently in an 88-73 setback at Oral Roberts Saturday. The Fighting Hawks opened league play with wins against Denver and Purdue Fort Wayne before falling at Omaha and ORU.

The Jackrabbits trail in the all-time series, 104-85, but hold a 7-1 record in Division I matchups. SDSU is 56-34 in Brookings against the Fighting Hawks and have won six consecutive against UND.

About South Dakota State
Growth and competition were areas of focus throughout the 2019-20 nonconference slate and head coach Eric Henderson's first two months at the helm. After securing a winning nonleague record, the Jacks enter their fourth week of Summit League play looking to continue their hot play of late, thanks in part to a plus-.500 field goal percentage in all five league contests.

South Dakota State has blended seven newcomers and nine underclassman into a roster with six returning letterwinners, framing together a defensive unit that has held opponents to 69 points per game. The Jacks have limited opponents to under 60 in seven games, including the final three of nonleague play against Nebraska-Kearney, Florida Gulf Coast and Idaho.

Offensively, the Jackrabbits are shooting 47.7 percent with 145 3-pointers, fourth-most among Summit League teams. SDSU has buried 260 of its 375 free throw efforts and is 11-1 in games where it shoots more free throws than its opponents.

Douglas Wilson is one of two Jackrabbits averaging double figures, leading the team with 17.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest. The Des Moines, Iowa native has six 20-plus scoring performances and four double-doubles, sinking 10 or more field goals in five games. He is second in the Summit League in scoring entering the week. The two-time NJCAA All-American and 2018-19 NJCAA Player of the Year is shooting a league-best 61.3 percent from the field and last week dropped 31 points at Denver.

Matt Dentlinger, second on the team with 10.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest, has turned in a trio of double-doubles, most recently in a 12-point, 10-board performance against Idaho. A 58 percent shooter, Dentlinger put together a run of 13 consecutive makes between the Arizona, Mississippi Valley State and Samford contests (going 8-for-8 against MVSU). He set a new career high with 18 points against Oral Roberts and followed that game with double-figure scoring performances against Western Illinois (14), Denver (12) and Purdue Fort Wayne (13).

Alex Arians and Noah Freidel and are both shooting nearly 45 percent from the field and have elevated their play since the opening month of action.

Arians has started all 20 games and is sixth on the team in scoring at 8.5 points per game, sinking 20 3-pointers to go with 116 rebounds (5.8 per game), 30 assists and 19 steals. The Madison, Wisconsin guard has scored 10 or more in six of his last eight appearances, including a double-double against WIU on Jan. 4.

Freidel, the 2019 Argus Leader Class A Player of the Year, sits third on the team in scoring (9.5 points per game) and second in 3-pointers (37) after a pair of 20-plus scoring performances (and four double-digit games) to start Summit League play. From Tea, South Dakota, Freidel scorched the nets for 28 with six 3-pointers at Omaha and followed it with 23 points and four 3-pointers against Oral Roberts. He has buried five or more 3s in two games this year, and has come up with 12 steals and 22 assists.

David Wingett (9.0 points per game) has started the last seven contests and made the most of the opportunity. He leads the team with 40 3-pointers on the season and has buried three or more from deep in six games. The Winnebago, Nebraska native lit up the nets for a career-best 24 points (with six 3s) at Purdue Fort Wayne.

Baylor Scheierman has 14 3-pointers and 36 assists in his first collegiate season, averaging 6.5 points over 19.8 minutes per contest. The Aurora, Nebraska guard has also pulled down 4.5 boards on average, helping SDSU to a plus-5.0 rebounding margin at 39.7 boards per contest.

Brandon Key (9.2 points per game) was a catalyst at the point in the first half of the season, posting four or more assists in 11 games, including five straight entering league action. He has not appeared in Summit League action so far due to injury. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin guard has six double-digit scoring games with 71 total assists, dishing 4.7 per contest. Key holds a 1.6 assist-to-turnover mark and is back for the Jackrabbits after redshirting a year ago. He had 112 assists in 2017-18.

About North Dakota
The Fighting Hawks, in the midst of a two-game skid, are averaging 76.1 points per game as a team this season and allowing 72.5. North Dakota is just ahead of the Jackrabbits with 147 made 3-pointers for the season, shooting 46.7 percent overall from the field.

Four Hawks average double-digit scoring, led by Marlon Stewart's 16.9 points per game. Stewart has buried 35 treys and 43.5 percent of his field goals overall, adding a team-best 92 assists in 18 starts.

De'Sean Allen-Eikens (13.6 points per game), Filip Rebraca (13.3 ppg) and Kienen Walter (10.4 ppg) are in double figures as well.

Allen-Eiken has 11 steals and 21 assists alongside 4.8 rebounds per game, third on the team in boards behind Stewart (5.2 per game) and Rebraca (9.7 per game).

Rebraca, the Serbia native, is a 60.1 percent shooter who has 26 blocks and 11 double-doubles this year.

Walter is second on the team with 28 3-pointers, adding 28 assists and 13 steals in 24.2 minutes per game.

The Hawks are plus-4.3 in rebounding margin at 37.7 per game and hold a 1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Paul Sather is in his first season leading North Dakota. He spent the last nine seasons at Northern State in Aberdeen, South Dakota, earning NSIC Coach of the Year honors in his final two years.

A South Dakota State Win Would ...
Make SDSU 14-7 on the year, 5-1 in Summit League play and 86-104 all-time against North Dakota ... hand the Jacks their seventh-straight win over the Fighting Hawks and eighth overall in Division I matchups ... extend SDSU's current home winning streak to 19 games ... give SDSU a 1,549-1,047-1 program mark.

A South Dakota State Loss Would ...
Drop the Jackrabbits to 13-8 on the year and 4-2 in Summit League play ... snap a four-game winning streak ... end the nation's third-longest active home winning streak at 18 games ... make the Jacks 85-105 all-time against North Dakota and 7-2 in Division I games with UND ... give the Jacks a 1,548-1,048-1 program mark.

Trending Up
The past eight games have shown a noticeable uptick in several statistical areas for the Jackrabbits, most notably the team's scoring and overall shooting percentage.

After sinking just 79 3-pointers through the first 12 games of the season (at a clip of 29 percent), SDSU is 66-of-163 from deep dating back to its Dec. 13 contest with Nebraska-Kearney. The Jacks have shot 40.5 percent as a team in that span with four players sinking five or more treys.
SDSU has taken better shot selection of late, leading to an increase of over 16 points per game. Additionally, SDSU is shooting 52 percent of its last eight contests compared to 44.8 percent through the first 12 games.
In line with better shot selection, SDSU has seen an uptick in assists per game (12.8 to 15.3) and a decrease in turnovers per contest (14.8 to 11.5).
After averaging 7.5 and 6.2 points through 12 games, respectively, Noah Freidel and Alex Arians have posted scoring averages of 12.4 and 11.9 points in the last eight games.
Freidel (18), David Wingett (22) and Arians (11) have lit up the nets from deep in that span.

Wilson Honored by Summit League
Douglas Wilson was selected as the Summit League's Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week, announced Nov. 11.

Wilson posted a monster debut week for the Jackrabbits, averaging 21 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest with a trio of double-figure scoring performances. Wilson helped SDSU to a 3-0 record to begin the year, scoring 24, 13 and 26 against UTRGV, Peru State and CSU Bakersfield, respectively. Wilson tallied his first-career double-double in the win over CSU Bakersfield with a game-high 13 rebounds.

On the Line
The Jackrabbits have seen a trend develop through 20 games of its 2019-20 schedule related to the free throw line.

Though SDSU is shooting just 69.3 percent as a team at the charity stripe, the Jackrabbits are 11-1 in games where they attempt more free throws than their opponent. Additionally, State is 2-6 in the eight games where opponents have gotten to the line more.

SDSU has held opponents to single-digit attempts four times this season, including back-to-back games against Nebraska-Kearney (four attempts) and Florida Gulf Coast (eight attempts).

Basketball Coaches Show Every Monday
The Jackrabbit Basketball Coaches Show is live at Cubby's Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Brookings Monday evenings at 6 p.m. The hour-long show covering the 2019-20 basketball season tips off every Monday through March 2.

Hosted by Tyler Merriam, the weekly look at the South Dakota State basketball teams features interviews with head men's coach Eric Henderson and head women's coach Aaron Johnston, as well as segments with Jackrabbit student-athletes and members of the coaching staff.

Fans can attend in person and will be eligible for weekly drawings.

The show also airs live on flagship radio station WNAX 570 AM and Jackrabbit Sports Network affiliates, and can be heard live or on-demand for free via Jackrabbits All-Access and the Jackrabbit App.

#FearFrost

The Jacks own a 113-6 record at Frost Arena over the last seven seasons dating back to 2011-12, which includes perfect home records in five of the last seven years. That span includes two home winning streaks of 30 or more games and three of 25 or more.
The Jackrabbits' current home winning streak of 18 games is tied for third-longest in NCAA Division I.
Since 2011-12, South Dakota State has won 95 percent of its home games, a mark that top all Division I programs in that span. South Dakota State won 34 consecutive games from Jan. 30, 2014 to Dec. 28, 2016. It ended as the nation's second-longest active streak.
The Jackrabbits won 30 consecutive home games from Jan. 29, 2011 to Nov. 14, 2013.
SDSU won 26 consecutive home games from Dec. 31, 2016 to Dec. 22, 2018.
South Dakota State won 34 consecutive home nonconference games inside Frost Arena from Dec. 31, 2016 to Dec. 22, 2018. That mark was the fourth-longest active streak when it ended.
SDSU put together undefeated seasons inside Frost Arena the following years: 1984-85 (18-0), 2002-03 (17-0), 2011-12 (14-0), 2012-13 (13-0), 2014-15 (13-0), 2015-16 (12-0) and 2017-18 (15-0).

Quick Hits

Five Jackrabbits have scored in double figures three times this season: at CSU Bakersfield, versus Western Illinois and at Denver.
Douglas Wilson led the team in points (25), rebounds (10), steals (two) and blocks (four), and was tied for the lead in assists (four) against Oral Roberts Jan. 2.
The Jackrabbits have trailed for less than one minute in six games this season, including three straight to end nonleague play. State did not trail against Purdue Fort Wayne.
SDSU is first nationally with 793 rebounds on the year, tallying 40 or more boards in 10 games.
Douglas Wilson is fourth nationally with 144 field goals this season, ranking 20th in field goal percentage and 16th in total points. This is the second season in a row a Jackrabbit has ranked in the top 20 in total points so far (Mike Daum, 2018-19).
South Dakota State has played five games against opponents this year it had not previously met.
The Jackrabbits held Mississippi Valley State to 17 first-half points on Nov. 24, 2019. That is the fewest since South Dakota State held Chadron State to 12 first-half points on Nov. 24, 2014.
SDSU's 93-91 victory over CSU Bakersfield saw five Jackrabbits reach double figures for the first time in 2019-20. The feat last happened Jan. 31, 2019 against Oral Roberts.
State posted back-to-back 50-rebound games to open the season. The last time an SDSU program had 50-plus rebounds in consecutive games was Dec. 15 and 27, 2002 against Finlandia (60) and Fort Lewis (58). The Jacks also had three-straight games with 50-plus rebounds that season: Nov. 23, 29 and 30.
Douglas Wilson's 24 points on Nov. 5 are the most in a Jackrabbit debut dating back to 2000-01, when game-by-game statistics were readily available.
SDSU went 13-0 when holding opponents under 70 points last season (11-9 when not) and scored 70-plus points in 32 of 33 contests. The Jackrabbits were 12-0 when holding opponents under 70 points in 2017-18. The Jacks have accomplished the feat 10 times this year and are 9-1 in those contests, with the lone loss coming at Indiana.
At least one Jackrabbit has scored in double figures over the last 394 games dating back to Jan. 12, 2008 at IUPUI when Anthony Cordova had nine points to lead the Jacks.
State has made at least one 3-pointer in 424 consecutive games. The last time the Jackrabbits did not make a 3-point field goal was Jan. 25, 2007
South Dakota State is 94-18 all-time in home openers (where records available). Dating back to 2004-05, SDSU's first year of DI transition, the Jacks are 12-4 in those games.
SDSU is 75-39 in season-openers all-time. The Jacks are 8-8 in season-opening games at the Division I level. The Jackrabbits are 7-6 in Summit League openers.

Jackrabbits Featured on All-Decade Teams
Former Jackrabbits Mike Daum and Nate Wolters were featured on All-Decade Teams, announced Dec. 31 as 2019 came to an end.

CollegeInsider.com featured Daum and Wolters on the Lou Henson Award team, while Daum also earned Lute Olson Award All-Decade team honors from the organization.

Mid-Major Madness also tabbed Daum as one of 10 selections to its all-decade squad.

Daum posted a 22.4 career scoring average and poured in 3,067 points, closing his time as Division I's No. 7 all-time scorer. He was a 2018-19 consensus All-American and a three-time Summit League Player of the Year.

Wolters wreaked havoc on defenses and closed his career with 2,352 points, 668 assists and 601 rebounds. He was a two-time Associated Press All-American, earning third-team honors as a senior, and picked up a second team NABC All-American nod in 2013.

Mfum Enrolls Early; Will Redshirt
Jackrabbit men's basketball signee William Mfum has enrolled at South Dakota State for the spring 2020 semester and will redshirt with the team. He is eligible to practice throughout the semester, and will look to make his debut in the 2020-21 season.

William Mfum graduated in December from Spring Creek Academy (Plano, Texas). Mfum will redshirt this semester and practice with the team after leaving Spring Creek on a high note, earning All-Texas Christian Athletic League and All-City First Team honors as a junior. Mfum averaged 19.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in 2018-19, burying 34 3-pointers and hitting 47 percent from the field. The 6-2 guard scored 20 or more points in nine games a year ago and had one double-double. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Mfum is the son of Stella Nyarko and Seth Adjei and plans to major in business management.

New Faces, New Roles
South Dakota State's lineup will feature new roles and new faces throughout the season, as the Jackrabbits return only 16.9 percent of their scoring from 2018-19, and 10.7 percent of their 3-point makes. SDSU's 15.8 points per game returning ranks sixth-lowest nationally, and the 16.9 percent back is the third-lowest margin (according to available records).

Jackrabbits in Two Scheduling Agreements
Summit League teams are in year two of scheduling agreements with the Western Athletic Conference and Big Sky, and this year claimed a 5-3 win in the WAC series.

The Jackrabbits took on Grand Canyon last year in the first year of the Summit League/WAC challenge, defeating the Lopes in the 2018-19 season opener. Year two of the challenge sent SDSU to face CSU Bakersfield Nov. 9, where the Jacks claimed a 93-91 double-overtime win.

The scheduling agreement with the Big Sky is a four-year contract. The Jackrabbits will play the following games as part of the deal:

2018-19: Montana (home; L, 74-85), Eastern Washington (away; W, 74-64)
2019-20: Idaho (home; W, 85-57), Montana State (away; L, 70-77)
2020-21: Eastern Washington (home), Montana (away)
2021-22: Montana State (home), Idaho (away)

Tough Tests
South Dakota State played four Power Five (ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, PAC-12) opponents in the 2019-20 nonleague season, facing USC, Nebraska, Arizona and Indiana in November. Though the Jacks went winless in those games, they led for a majority of the contest at Arizona, and held Indiana (a top-10 scoring offense) to a season-low 64 points.

South Dakota State has seven wins over Power Five programs since joining The Summit League in 2007, picking up victories over Iowa State (2008), Iowa (2010 and 2017), Washington (2011), TCU (2015), Minnesota (2015) and Ole Miss (2017).

SDSU's wins over Iowa and Ole Miss in 2017-18 came in the shortest time frame of any Summit League team since 1998 (seven days). The Jackrabbits are the fifth league team to post a win over separate Power Five conferences in the same regular season, and the first to do it since 2009.

Jacks Picked Fifth in Preseason Poll
South Dakota State men's basketball earned two first-place votes and was tabbed fifth in the 2019-20 Summit League men's basketball preseason poll, released in October.

The poll is voted on by league coaches, sports information directors and select media.

Jackrabbits' Last Time Out
FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- South Dakota State held off a scrappy Purdue Fort Wayne squad Saturday night to secure its fourth-consecutive win, topping the Mastodons 70-61 at Memorial Coliseum.

The Jackrabbits (13-7, 4-1 Summit League) led by as many as 21 after a hot-shooting opening frame, but saw the hometown 'Dons rally down the stretch to pressure State late.

"I'm really proud of our young guys and how we handled our business on a long road trip," head coach Eric Henderson said. "For us to come out the way we did in the first half, it was really impressive. We have multiple guys willing to step up and make plays and that was on display for us tonight."

Down 45-24 with 16:25 left in the game, Purdue Fort Wayne woke up offensively, cutting it to single digits with 4:25 on the clock, then pulled within six inside the final two minutes. David Wingett, however, put the game out of reach for good with 1:23 remaining ,sinking a contested 3-pointer to cap a memorable night.

Wingett blew past his previous career-high on his way to a 24-point showing, burying 9-of-15 from the field with six 3-pointers. 13 of those points came in the opening half as the Winnebago, Nebraska native helped the Jacks to their fast start.

Matt Dentlinger and Douglas Wilson were in double figures as well with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Dentlinger pulled down five rebounds and tallied two blocks.

Noah Freidel (eight points) and Alex Arians tied for the team-lead with eight rebounds, as Arians dished four assists on the night for a team that had 19 assists on 29 made field goals.

South Dakota State came out firing to build a 12-2 lead in the opening four minutes, then pushed its advantage to 14 (22-8) at 12:55 as Freidel buried a 3. The Jackrabbits, who shot 65 percent and went 5-of-8 from deep in the opening frame, continued to push and carried a 40-20 lead into halftime.

Neither team found its rhythm early in the second, but with 16 minutes left the intensity picked up as the Mastodons made their charge. The double-digit lead proved vital for the Jackrabbits, though, as SDSU capped an undefeated week in Summit League action.

Opponent Last Time Out
TULSA, Okla. – The University of North Dakota had five student-athletes reach double figures at Oral Roberts and shot 45-percent from the field; however, Oral Roberts registered 34 field goals, including 11 behind the arc, while shooting 57-percent to defeat the Fighting Hawks, 88-73.

Kienan Walter finished 19 points to lead the Fighting Hawks while Marlon Stewart recorded 18 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. UND was -1 on the glass and scored 24 points in the paint while shooting 8-of-24 behind the three-point line.

"We came in really locked in and worried about rebounding because these guys have shown that they're such a good rebounding team, especially on the offensive side, and we only gave up five," said Head Coach Paul Sather. "There were a lot of good things we did throughout the game.

"But in the first 20 minutes, we had opportunities. We can't go 1-of-7 to open the game at the free-throw line because it was only a one-possession game when that stuff was going on. We had some open looks fall around the rim, but we were struggling to score there a little bit," Sather closed.

Both North Dakota and Oral Roberts traded runs in the first half of play, resulting in four ties and three score changes. Despite trailing by as much as seven points in the game, the Fighting Hawks were the offensive aggressor as they drove to the paint and drew seven fouls. However, UND was unable to take advantage at the line as it shot 3-of-9 in the opening 20 minutes.

The University of North Dakota shot an impressive 13-of-27 (.481) from the field, competing in the paint with the Golden Eagles bigs as the two teams combined for 30 points in the paint. ORU was 16-of-32 in the first half. Walter led North Dakota with 12 points in the half and was supported by De'Sean Allen-Eikens, who scored 10 points while Stewart distributed five assists.

Walter's final basket of the frame lifted UND within three points as he flashed across the lane and hit a turnaround jumper with only seconds remaining on the shot clock and only 15.9 seconds remaining on the game clock.

The Fighting Hawks aggressive style continued in the half as it managed to foul out two of the Golden Eagles post players. The method of play allowed North Dakota to cut a 17-point Oral Roberts lead to eight points as the Hawks hit 12 of their last 13 free throw shots, including six from Stewart.

Last Matchup: SDSU vs North Dakota (2/8/19)
South Dakota State men's basketball used a strong second half to pull away from North Dakota and claim an 80-55 victory Saturday afternoon at Frost Arena.

Tied at 38 with 18 minutes to play, the Jackrabbits broke out on a 20-2 run over the next four-plus minutes to take control for good, improving to 20-6 on the season and 10-1 in Summit League play.

Winners of nine consecutive, SDSU shot 50 percent for the game and went 17-of-19 at the charity stripe, overcoming a cold start from deep to maintain its first-place spot in the league standings.

Mike Daum posted a 29-point, 20-rebound double-double, going 10-of-19 from the field (10-of-11 from inside the arc) while hitting all eight of his free throws.

Alex Arians and David Jenkins each had 15 points, as Arians was 6-of-7 from the field with six rebounds. Jenkins hit two 3-pointers in the game and added a pair of assists.

Skyler Flatten rounded out the double-figure scorers for SDSU with 11 points, including a pair of highlight-reel dunks in the second half to go with three steals.

Tevin King put together an all-around effort with eight points, six assists and five rebounds in the win.

"I thought it was obviously a tough first half shooting the basketball, starting 0-for-15 from (deep)," head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. "The way we shot it is not gonna happen too often. We talked about it a lot at halftime, how defense and guarding and getting deflections and steals was gonna get us going on that other end.

"I thought that second half, defensively, was about as well as we've played in a half on that end of the floor and it allowed us to open up that game. I'm proud of our guys for how they they came out of the locker room at halftime. They had great energy and effort."

South Dakota State and North Dakota traded momentum runs throughout the first half. The Jackrabbits led by as many as nine early, but carried just a 33-32 lead into the break as the Fighting Hawks battled back late in the first.

Up one at halftime, Daum buried a trey on the opening possession of the half, but UND answered once again to draw even at 38. From that point on, however, it was all Jackrabbits as South Dakota State outscored North Dakota by 25 the rest of the way.

Arians started the scoring burst with an old-fashioned 3-point play, and moments later Frost Arena came to life as Flatten's steal-and-slam forced a UND timeout at 17:18. All told, the Jackrabbits opened the burst with nine unanswered and ended it with 11 straight, building a 58-40 lead before the 13-minute mark.

UND stopped the Jackrabbit burst shortly thereafter, but with 7:22 left in the game South Dakota State opened another 12-0 run to push its lead past 20, where it stayed until the final buzzer.

-GoJacks.com-