| Â GAME 31: South Dakota State (22-8, 13-2) at North Dakota State (20-8, 11-3) |
Previewing the Game
South Dakota State heads North this week to wrap up the 2019-20 regular season, traveling to North Dakota State Thursday. The Jackrabbits and Bison tip at 8 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the women's game, which begins at 5 p.m.
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SDSU (22-8, 13-2 Summit League) brings an eight-game winning streak into the game and can clinch an outright regular season Summit League title with a victory.
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NDSU (20-8, 11-3 Summit League) dropped a heartbreaker at North Dakota last Saturday and will need to defeat the Jackrabbits to keep their regular season championship hopes alive.
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The Jackrabbits trail in the all-time series against North Dakota State, 107-117, but have won six straight against the Bison. That streak includes a 78-73 victory at Frost Arena earlier this season.
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About South Dakota State
Only one game remains in South Dakota State's race to the Summit and the Jackrabbits control their own destiny in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the league tournament. The Jacks have already secured a top two seed in the tournament and will play a quarterfinal game on Saturday, March 7.
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The Jackrabbits have shot 50 percent of better in all but one league contest this season, separating themselves from the pack with a plus-10.8 scoring margin against Summit League teams.
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SDSU's defensive unit has limited opponents to 70.3 points per game on the season, holding teams under 60 in seven contests. SDSU has allowed 80 or more points in just three games.
Offensively, the Jackrabbits are shooting 49.3 percent from the field, 34.9 percent from deep and 71 percent from the line. The charity stripe has been an important factor in SDSU's success, as the Jacks are 18-1 in games where it shoots more free throws than its opponent.
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Douglas Wilson leads the team with 18.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, tallying 12 20-plus scoring performances and four double-doubles this year. Wilson, who has poured in 20 points or more in eight conference matchups, has buried 10 or more field goals in eight games this season. The two-time NJCAA All-American and 2018-19 NJCAA Player of the Year is shooting 62.8 percent from the field and has scored 10 or more in all 14 league appearances (missing the first South Dakota game due to injury).
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Matt Dentlinger, second on the team with 12.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest, is shooting 69.5 percent against league opponents and posted 20-point games against South Dakota (26), North Dakota State (21) and Denver (22). The Arcadia, Iowa native sank 13 consecutive field goal attempts between the Arizona, Mississippi Valley State and Samford contests (going 8-for-8 against MVSU) earlier this year, and has reached double figures in 18 games, including 10 league contests.
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Noah Freidel broke into double figures this month and has been on a tear offensively, raising his season average to 11.0 points per game. The Tea, South Dakota native has 10 double-digit scoring games in league play, including five 20-plus efforts, including a 26-point showing last time out against South Dakota. Freidel, the 2019 Argus Leader Class A Player of the Year, sits third on the team in scoring and is tied for first in 3-pointers (56) while shooting 43.8 percent from the field. He has buried five or more 3s in two games this year and has come up with 18 steals and 51 assists.
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Alex Arians is one of two Jackrabbits to start all 30 games and is fourth in scoring at 9.1 points per game. He is third in rebounds (5.7 per contest) and has 25 steals, 55 assists and 36 3-pointers. The Madison, Wisconsin guard has scored 10 or more in 13 games this year and matched his career-high with 19 points against Omaha on Feb. 8. Arians also scored 16 at South Dakota, and against North Dakota State tallied 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, and did not commit a turnover in 39 minutes for his second double-double performance of the year.
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David Wingett (8.7 points per game) has started the last 16 contests and leads the team with 56 3-pointers (tied with Freidel). He has buried three or more from deep in eight games. The Winnebago, Nebraska native lit up the nets for a career-best 24 points (with six 3s) at Purdue Fort Wayne and had 13 with a trio of 3-pointers at South Dakota.
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Baylor Scheierman, who earned his first career start at South Dakota, has 19 3-pointers and 65 assists in his first collegiate season, averaging 6.2 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-4.8 rebounding margin at 38.4 boards per contest.
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About the Bison
North Dakota State sits a game and half behind South Dakota State in the league standings with two games remaining.
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The Bison are averaging 74.1 points per game and shooting 44.7 percent from the field, thanks in part to three double-figure scorers in its starting lineup.
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Vinnie Shahid leads the Bison at 18.3 points per game, burying a team-high 70 3-pointers to go with 29 steals.
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Tyson Ward averages 15.8 points per night as a 52.8 percent shooter. His 7.2 rebounding average leads the Bison, as he (81 assists) and Shahid (80 assists) sit Nos. 1 and 2 in team dishes.
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Rocky Krueser is averaging 10.6 points per game out of the paint, pulling down six rebounds per game to go with a team-best 24 blocks.
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Defensively, NDSU is allowing 66.3 points per game with opponents shooting 43.6 percent against the Bison.
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NDSU is plus-four on the boards and boasts a 1.1 team assist-to-turnover ratio.
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David Richman is in his sixth season leading the Bison. He is 116-75 on the bench.
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A South Dakota State Win Would ...
Cap SDSU's regular season at 23-8 (14-2 Summit League) and secure the No. 1 seed for next month's Summit League Championships ... extend SDSU's current winning streak to nine games and their series streak with the Bison to seven ... make the Jackrabbits 108-117 all-time against NDSU and 38-64 in Fargo (with two straight wins) ... give the Jackrabbits a 1,558-1,048-1 program mark.
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A South Dakota State Loss Would ...
Close SDSU's regular season at 22-9 and 13-3 in Summit League play ... move the Jackrabbits to 107-118 all-time against North Dakota State and 37-65 in series games played in Fargo, North Dakota ... snap the Jackrabbits' eight-game winning streak and six-game winning streak against the Bison ... give South Dakota State a 1,557-1,049-1 program mark.
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Looking Ahead
With just one game left on its 2019-20 regular season docket, South Dakota State's Summit League Championship outlook is coming into view.
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The Jackrabbits currently sit one and a half games ahead of North Dakota State in the Summit League standings, as the Bison have games left on their regular season slate.
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If SDSU defeats NDSU Thursday night, the Jackrabbits will secure the No. 1 overall seed and an outright regular season title.
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If the Jackrabbits lose Thursday, their final seeding will not be determined until the Bison's Saturday game with Omaha.
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A Bison win over SDSU and loss against Omaha gives SDSU the No. 1 seed.
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Two Bison wins this week means the Jackrabbits will be the No. 2 seed.
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The Jackrabbits have already guaranteed a finish higher than their preseason slot (fifth).
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Peaking at the Right Time
Though the Jackrabbits put together a successful nonconference season to start the 2020 season off on the right foot, SDSU's play has seen a noticeable uptick across several statistical areas during league play.
- After sinking just 103 3-pointers through 15 nonleague games (at a clip of 30.4 percent), the Jackrabbits are 116 of 288 from deep in 15 league games with a long range shooting percentage of 40.3 percent. Additionally, four players have double-digit 3s in that span.
- SDSU has been more selective of shots in league play, leading to an increase of seven points per game (74.3 to 82.4). With that, the Jacks are shooting 53.4 percent in league games compared to a .453 rate in the first 15 contests in 2019-20.
- In line with better shot selection, SDSU has seen an uptick in assists per game (13.5 to 15.4) and a decrease in turnovers per contest (14.1 to 12.1).
- After averaging 7.3 points per game in nonleague play, Noah Freidel and Alex Arians have posted scoring averages of 14.8 and 10.8, respectively, in the last 15 contests.
- David Wingett (29 3-pointers), Freidel (34 3s), Arians (23 3s) and Matt Mims (15 3-pointers) have lit up the nets from deep against Summit League opponents.
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Sustained Success; Youth Movement
The Jackrabbits have won more games in the past three seasons than any other Summit League program. The 2017-18 and 2018-19 success was fueled by experienced squads and all-time great scorers, but the 2019-20 team has filled Frost Arena with a youthful energy.
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The Jackrabbits have gone 74-24 (40-5 Summit League) dating back to the 2017-18 season. Those win totals are double-digits higher than any other team.
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SDSU sits as the 343rd youngest team out of 353 NCAA Division I teams in KenPom's experience rankings. The experience value is based on a player's eligibility (freshmen have zero years, sophomores have one year, etc.), and players who appear in less than 10 percent of their team's minutes are not included in the calculations.
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In addition to the team's KenPom youth ranking, the Jackrabbits returned just 16.9 percent of their scoring from 2018-19. SDSU's 15.8 points per game returning was sixth-lowest, and the 16.9 percent mark was third-lowest (according to available records).
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Dentlinger named Academic All-District
South Dakota State's
Matt Dentlinger was named to the 2019-20 CoSIDA Academic All-District 6 Men's Basketball Team mid-February.
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 A sophomore forward from Arcadia, Iowa, Dentlinger has compiled a 4.00 grade point average in mechanical engineering. He is a junior academically after redshirting the 2017-18 season.
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Dentlinger will advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team (if applicable) Academic All-America® honorees will be announced between March 9-12.
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Selections to the Academic All-District 6 Basketball Team were based upon a vote of sports information directors in Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Candidates must be at least a sophomore in athletic and academic standing, a starter or key reserve on his team and carry at least a 3.3 GPA.
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Jackrabbits Honored by Summit League
South Dakota State has picked up three Summit League Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week awards this season.
- Douglas Wilson (Nov. 11) – Wilson posted a monster debut week for the Jacks, averaging 21 points and 8.7 rebounds over three double-figure scoring performances (and Jackrabbit wins). Wilson scored 24, 13 and 26 against UTRGV, Peru State and CSU Bakersfield.
- Matt Dentlinger (Feb. 17) – Dentlinger had two double-doubles in a pair of Jackrabbit wins. He had 22 points with 11 rebounds against Denver, then scored 18 and grabbed 10 boards against Purdue Fort Wayne. Dentlinger also swatted a career-high five blocks in the win over the 'Dons.
- Douglas Wilson (Feb. 24) -- Wilson averaged 25.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in a pair of Jackrabbit victories. He scored 31 points and had six rebounds against North Dakota, shooting 14 of 17 from the field to go with four assists. Wilson added 20 points and seven rebounds in an 85-80 win over South Dakota.
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Trending Positive
The Jackrabbits have seen two trends develop through the 2019-20 season tied to free throws and rebounds.
- The Jackrabbits are 18-1 in games where they attempt more free throws than their opponent, and 4-7 in the 11 games where opponents have attempt more at the charity stripe.
- South Dakota State is 19-1 when out-performing (or tying) opponents on the boards and are just 3-7 when opponents out-rebound the Jackrabbits.
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#FearFrost
- The Jacks own a 119-6 record at Frost Arena over the last nine seasons dating back to 2011-12, which includes perfect home records in five seasons during that span, which includes two home winning streaks of 30 or more games and three of 25 or more.
- SDSU's .958 home winning percentage over the past five years (back to 2015-16) is also the nation's best mark in that span.
- The Jackrabbits' current home winning streak of 24 games is tied as the second-longest active in NCAA Division I. Gonzaga leads the nation with 37 straight home wins, while Prairie View A&M even with the Jacks with 24 straight at home. Florida State (22), Liberty (20), Oregon (19) and Murray State (19) are next on the list.
- Since 2011-12, South Dakota State has won 95.2 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 posted its sixth undefeated record inside Frost Arena over the last 10 years this season, going 16-0 at home. The Jackrabbits were also undefeated at Frost Arena in 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). Six perfect home records in the last 10 years is the most in the nation.
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Quick Hits
- SDSU has held opponents under 70 points 15 times this season, posting a 14-1 record in those games. The lone loss in 2019-20 came at Indiana, where the Jacks held the Hoosiers to a season-low in points. The Jackrabbits went 13-0 when holding opponents under 70 last season (11-9 when not) and were 12-0 in those games during the 2017-18 season.
- The Jackrabbits have trailed for less than one minute in seven games this season, including three straight to end nonleague play. State did not trail against Purdue Fort Wayne (1/11) or North Dakota State (1/22) in league play.
- SDSU has held opponents to single-digit free throw attempts six times this season, including back-to-back games against Nebraska-Kearney (four attempts) and Florida Gulf Coast (eight attempts).
- 10 different Jackrabbits (out of 13 available on the roster) have posted double-digit scoring performances this season.
- 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.
- Noah Freidel led the team in points (22), assists (six) and steals (two) and was tied for the lead in rebounds (seven) at Oral Roberts Jan. 29.
- 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 (2002): 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.
- At least one Jackrabbit has scored in double figures over the last 404 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 434 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.
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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.
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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.
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Mid-Major Madness also tabbed Daum as one of 10 selections to its all-decade squad.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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The Jackrabbits have secured at least a tie for first-place in the Summit League standings at the end of the year, finishing five spots higher than where they were picked.
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The poll is voted on by league coaches, sports information directors and select media.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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Jackrabbits' Last Time Out
Jackrabbit men's basketball claimed at least a share of its third-consecutive Summit League regular season title Sunday with an 85-80 victory over South Dakota.
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Playing in front of a season-high 4,572 fans, South Dakota State (22-8, 13-2 Summit League) shot 50 percent from the field and used a 9-0 run midway through the second half to put the Coyotes away.
Noah Freidel led all scorers with 26 points, draining three 3-pointers and burying 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
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Douglas Wilson, who missed the first matchup due to injury, made his presence felt early and often on his way to a 20-point, seven-rebound showing.
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Alex Arians and
David Wingett each scored 13 points. Arians, who matched
Matt Dentlinger and
Brandon Key with a team-high three assists, recorded seven rebounds.
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Wingett and Freidel each brought down six boards.
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The Jackrabbits roared out of the gates on a 9-2 run, thanks in part to a Wilson dunk and Wingett 3-pointer in the early-going. USD answered back with a 10-2 run, making it a one-point game just past the under-12 break (18-17). The teams traded runs once more on their way to a 31-27 Coyote lead, when a triple for Wingett at 3:51 set up a competitive finish to the half.
South Dakota State trailed South Dakota at the break, 34-32.
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An Arians jumper moments into the half started a back-and-forth flurry that featured nine lead changes before the under-12 media timeout. Down 59-56 with 8:10 to play, an old-fashioned 3-point play from Freidel opened a nine-point Jackrabbit rally as State took control for good.
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The Coyotes stayed within striking distance the rest of the way, but the Jacks buried six of their final eight free throw attempts down the stretch to hold off any USD charges.
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Opponent Last Time Out
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota's Marlon Stewart scored 35 points to carry the Fighting Hawks to a 71-68 victory over the North Dakota State men's basketball team on Saturday night inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Stewart hit the game-winning three-pointer with 0.9 seconds remaining.
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NDSU fell to 20-8 overall and 11-3 in The Summit League to stand in second place. The Bison had won four straight in Grand Forks over the Fighting Hawks prior to tonight's defeat.
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Senior Tyson Ward scored 24 points to lead the Bison. Vinnie Shahid added 14 points and five assists, becoming the 18th Bison player to score 500 points in a season.
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UND shot 47 percent for the game, compared to 45 percent for NDSU. The Bison won the rebounding battle, 37-32, but committed 14 turnovers in the game.
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Stewart scored his 35 points on 13-of-25 shooting and made 8-of-9 at the free throw line.
NDSU trailed 68-63 after a jumper by Stewart with 0:34 remaining. Ward answered with a quick bucket, then UND was called for a five-second violation attempting to inbound. Ward added a three-point play to tie the game at 68-68 with 21 seconds on the clock.
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NDSU's seven-game win streak was its longest since winning 10 in a row at the end of the 2013-14 season.
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Last Matchup: SDSU vs NDSU (1/22/20)
The Jackrabbit men's basketball team won its 20th consecutive game at Frost Arena Wednesday night, taking down North Dakota State 78-73 in front of 3,011 fans.
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South Dakota State (15-8, 6-2 Summit League) shot 55.8 percent as a team and outscored the Bison by 12 in the paint as four Jackrabbits scored in double figures.
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Alex Arians played all 40 minutes and turned in an all-around performance, finishing with 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists while going 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. He did not commit a turnover.
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Matt Dentlinger led the scoring attack for the second-straight game, finishing with 21 points while grabbing three boards.
Douglas Wilson scored 20 with four rebounds and a trio of assists in his return to the lineup.
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Matt Mims added 10 points, sinking five of his six free throws and
David Wingett collected five boards.
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South Dakota State went inside early and often, tallying 24 points in the paint through the opening frame. A 9-2 run midway through the first helped the Jackrabbits gain separation from the Bison, and SDSU worked its way to a 34-22 halftime lead as Dentlinger and Wilson combined for 21 in the first half.
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NDSU rallied to start the second, finding the basket on eight consecutive possessions after the break to crawl within three (41-38). SDSU stopped the charge with a return to its focus on interior play, but were forced to deal with a pesky Bison squad that stayed within striking distance the rest of the way. A Dentlinger layup and Mims free throw put the Jacks up, 70-62, going into the final minute of play, and South Dakota State sank nine free throws in the final 1:03 to seal the victory.
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