JACKS OPEN HOME SLATE WITH MOUNT MARTY

GAME 9: Mount Marty (7-7) at South Dakota State (5-3)
When	Monday, Jan. 4 \| 6 p.m.
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, S.D.
Live Radio	Jackrabbit Sports Network \| WNAX 570 AM \| Tyler Merriam
Live Audio	Jackrabbits All-Access
Live Video	Jackrabbits All-Access ($)
Live Stats	Live Stats
Game Notes	South Dakota State (PDF)
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook

South Dakota State
     For the first time in 23 days, South Dakota State will play a men's basketball game.
     The Jackrabbits (5-3) make their Frost Arena debut in this most irregular of seasons, hosting Mount Marty on Monday, Jan. 4 at 6 p.m.
     SDSU defeated North Dakota State and North Dakota before falling to South Dakota, compiling a 2-1 mark at the Dakota Showcase in Sioux Falls. That loss to the Coyotes was Dec. 12, the last time SDSU played a game.
     The Jacks most recent home game was Feb. 23, when SDSU clinched a share of a Summit League regular season title with an 85-80 win over the Coyotes. Sunday will mark 316 days between Jackrabbit men's basketball games in Brookings.

Mount Marty
     An NAIA program, the Lancers played 15 times before the holidays, going 7-7 with one exhibition game. That non-counter was an 84-44 loss at South Dakota on Dec. 20, Mount Marty's most recent outing.
     The Lancers are scheduled to play at Briar Cliff on Saturday, Jan. 2, before coming to Brookings two nights later.
     Elijah Pappas and Jalen Billings have been quite the one-two punch for the Lancers, but they have done it in much different ways.
     Pappas leads the squad with an average of 14.6 points per game. The 6-foot-4 senior from Rockford, Ill., also averages team highs of 7.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals while starting every game.
     Billings, a 5-foot-10 senior guard, is tallying 14.5 points per game coming off the bench. He has knocked down 38 3-pointers, the eighth most in the NAIA.
     Todd Lorensen is in his second season as Mount Marty's head coach. Before arriving in Yankton, he guided Buena Vista to an NJCAA national championship in 2017, winning multiple national coach of the year awards in the process.

The Series
     The Jackrabbits and Lancers have played only three times in the regular season, with SDSU winning every time.
     Most recently, the Jacks claimed an 84-68 win on Dec. 13, 1980. Steve Lingenfelter scored 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Paul McDonald and John Brown each added 10 points for SDSU, who jumped out to a 17-6 lead and never looked back. Kevin Lien led the Lancer effort that night with 14 points.
     Last year, SDSU defeated Mount Marty in an exhibition game, 98-70, on Oct. 30 in Frost Arena. Douglas Wilson scored 25 points and Alex Arians poured in 20 for the Jacks.
Scheierman's Success
     Baylor Scheierman has taken his game to another level during his sophomore campaign.
     The Aurora, Neb., native posted consecutive double-doubles in wins at Iowa State and Bradley, earning Summit League Player of the Week honors.
     He followed that up with two more double-doubles in wins vs. North Dakota State and North Dakota as part of the Dakota Showcase in Sioux Falls.
     In all, he's scored in double figures in seven of eight games, and posted double-doubles on four occasions.

Freidel in His 20s
     Not only did Noah Freidel recently turn 20, but the sharpshooter from Tea has also been a regular in the 20-point club as of late.
     He has scored 20 points 11 times in 36 career games, including three times this season.
     Freidel was named CollegeInsider.com Lou Henson Mid Major Player of the Week after scoring 47 points and making 10-of-17 3-pointers in wins at Iowa State and Bradley last month.

Wilson Doing It All
     Douglas Wilson is the reigning Summit League Player of the Year, but he is doing more than just wreaking havoc around the rim.
     He has scored in double figures in four of five games, averaging 14.2 points a contest. Wilson is also averaging six rebounds per game while shooting 46 percent.
     Additionally, he has collected three steals in a game, dished out five assists in another, and blocked a shot in four of the five games he has played.
     He missed all three games in the Dakota Showcase due to an injury.

Summit League Favorites
     South Dakota State was the pick to win the Summit League in the conference preseason poll, garnering 33 of 36 first place votes. The Jackrabbits return the Summit's coach and player of the year and feature three preseason all-league honorees.
     Douglas Wilson was voted as player of the year, while Noah Freidel joined him on the first-team. Matt Dentlinger was chosen as second-team all-league.

Power Five Wins
     SDSU's victory at Iowa State Dec. 2 marked the fifth time in the past six seasons the Jacks have defeated a Power Five program. Dating back to 2008-09, SDSU has beaten a Power Five opponent eight times in 13 seasons.
     Iowa State and Iowa have each fallen twice to the Jacks. In fact, SDSU is 4-0 against those two programs since moving to Division I.
     SDSU also has wins over Ole Miss, TCU, Minnesota and Washington in that span.
     That doesn't include a win at No. 16 New Mexico on Dec. 22, 2012 in Albuquerque.

Run of Success
     South Dakota State has played in eight consecutive postseasons, a run that would likely have grown to nine if not for the COVID-19 pandemic causing all the tournaments to be canceled last March. That includes five NCAA Tournaments, a pair of National Invitation Tournaments and one trip to the College Basketball Invitational.
     Only 16 programs in Division I have played in each of the last eight postseasons.
     During this string of success, the Jacks have won five Summit League Tournaments and claimed at least a share of six regular season league titles.
     The Jackrabbits have won 20 or more games each of the last three years and seven of the previous nine seasons.

Frost Arena Effect
     No place in Division I men's basketball is harder for visiting teams to win in than Frost Arena. Don't believe us? Try this on for size...
     Since 2015-16, South Dakota State is 68-3 in Frost Arena. That's a .958 winning percentage at home over the past five seasons. Over that span, only Kansas, Gonzaga and New Mexico State are also over .920
     If that isn't enough, let's go back to 2011-12. SDSU has played 125 games at Frost in the last nine years, winning 119 of them. Six of those seasons, the Jacks didn't lose at home. Again, the .952 winning percentage is clearly at the top.
     Kansas and Gonzaga are the only two other programs with winning percentages greater than .940.
     The Jackrabbits have won 24 consecutive games at home, the third longest active streak in Division I men's hoops.
     Additionally, the Jackrabbits were one of 13 teams to go undefeated at home in 2019-20.

SDSU Athletics Division I Success Unparalleled
     South Dakota State's run of overall success in men's basketball, women's basketball and football is unmatched during the past decade in Division I.
     The men's basketball program has reached eight consecutive postseasons. Football has done the same, playing in each of the last eight FCS Playoffs and nine of the last 11.
     Jackrabbit women's basketball has been just as impressive, playing in 13 straight postseasons, nine of those NCAA Tournaments, highlighted by a Sweet Sixteen trip in 2019.
     Only four schools saw both of their basketball programs make eight straight postseasons appearances - Baylor, Gonzaga, Saint Mary's and SDSU.
     When you include football - FBS bowls or the FCS playoff system - South Dakota State is the only school whose football, men's and women's basketball team have played in each of the last eight postseasons.
     This dates back to the 2012 NCAA Basketball Tournaments and the 2012 FCS Playoffs.

Jacks Sign Two For 2021-22
     Head Coach Eric Henderson announced that Broden Lien and Isaiah "Zeke" Mayo signed letters of intent, indicating they will enroll at South Dakota State next fall and join the Jackrabbit men's basketball program.
     Lien (6-8, 220, Flom, Minn.) will graduate from the Andrews Osborne Academy in Willoughby, Ohio, in May. He previously attended Norman County East High School in Ulen, Minn. A two-year starter, he was Pine to Prairie Conference co-MVP last year, averaging 24 points and 11 rebounds per game.
     Mayo (6-3, 170, Lawrence, Kan.) will graduate from Lawrence High School in May. He earned second-team all-state honors in the largest class in Kansas last year. Mayo posted averages of 16.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists last year. Those numbers propelled him to the 2019-20 Lawrence Journal-World Boys Player of the year. He was also a finalist for the Class 6A player of the year.

No Home Games Until January
     In this most irregular of years, South Dakota State did not play a non-conference home game. It marked the first time since in 35 years that SDSU did not have a home game in November.
     To go a step further, you have to go back to the 1925-26 schedule to find a season the Jackrabbit men didn't host a game until January.
     That season, SDSU played 20 games total, and only two in December - road games at Wisconsin and St. Mary's (Minn.)

-GoJacks.com-

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Alex Arians

Matt Dentlinger

Noah Freidel

Baylor Scheierman

Douglas Wilson

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South Dakota State University Athletics