SDSU FALLS IN OVERTIME THRILLER TO AKRON

Monday, November 7

Akron, OH

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

0-1,0-0Summit League

Akron

1-0,0-0MAC

OT 1

South Dakota St.

Akron

Matt Dentlinger

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

11/7/2022 9:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

AKRON, Ohio – The season opener between South Dakota State and Akron turned out to be the tough matchup expected out of reigning conference champions as the two sides competed into overtime, but the Zips outlasted the Jackrabbits Monday 81-80 at James A. Rhoades Arena.

SDSU led by as many as eight points in the first half and took a six-point edge, 41-35, into the halftime break. The Zips eventually trimmed the deficit as the two sides battled back and forth throughout the second half. A Matt Dentlinger layup provided the Jacks a 66-61 advantage with 3 minutes, 18 seconds, remaining. The lead lasted just over two minutes before an Enrique Freeman dunk and Xavier Castaneda 3-pointer tied the margin at 68 with 1:10 to play.

A Zeke Mayo layup put SDSU ahead again, 70-68, but two free throws by Castaneda tied it with 26 seconds on the clock. The Jackrabbits had the ball with the shot clock turned off, but Akron forced with seconds to play. The Zips' Greg Tribble had a chance to put in a layup at the buzzer but his attempt was missed which sent the game to overtime.

The two foes traded baskets in the opening half of the overtime period before Akron took control. Freeman scored four straight points to put the Zips ahead, 80-76. Two consecutive steals and points off turnovers by SDSU's Mayo and Alex Arians, respectively, tied the margin at 80 with 16 seconds remaining.

The next possession featured a scramble for the ball under the basket SDSU was defending and a foul was called on Charlie Easley with two seconds on the clock. Tribble went to the line for the Zips and hit his first free throw. He missed the second attempt forcing an SDSU full-court heave that was unsuccessful.

"What a basketball game," South Dakota State head coach Eric Henderson said. "We certainly had chances. I loved the energy we played with. We played extremely together, we played our butts off and we were physical. But the Castaneda kid was terrific. He had a heck of a game."

"We have to continue to put ourselves in this position. We will find our way on to the right side of a game like this. I'm really proud of our effort, the outcome sucked, but it is what it is."

Five Jackrabbits finished the contest in double figures scoring led by Dentlinger's 15 points. Arians had a team-high six assists for the Jacks who outshot the Zips 52.5-44.1%, however, were just 4 of 15 (26.7%) from 3-point range while Akron made 11 treys on the night.

"I think that's the way this team will be," Henderson said of SDSU's scoring distribution. "All those guys are certainly capable, they all have things they're very good at it. We'll try to play to those strengths.

"Our stubbornness is what we're good at. They did not want us to shoot 3s, so we had stubbornness to play through the post. Matt (Dentlinger) and Willliam (Kyle III) played well and Matthew Mors gave us good minutes."

Castaneda was the game's leading scorer with 31 points on 9 of 14 shooting and he also distributed nine assists. Freeman contributed with a double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Zips.

The Jacks finished the contest with an edge at the charity stripe going 14-for-17 and outrebounded the Zips 36-32. Akron won the turnover battle by a 13-9 margin.

"Our team is so together and very connected," Henderson said. "It's something we preach and it's the way we want to play. There's not a selfish person on this team which makes it fun to coach.

"We'll continue to get better and we have a lot of room to grow. We're going to continue to find our identity, but we've got a ringer of a schedule. But we'll continue to grow as this group plays together."

Notes
Kyle III led SDSU in the first half with 10 points and eventually finished with 14 in his collegiate debut. Dentlinger's three blocks were the most for the Jackrabbit senior since the 2020-21 season. Mayo and Easley had seven rebounds apiece for SDSU.

Up Next
South Dakota State travels to Boise State to take on the Broncos on Wednesday. The game at ExtraMile Arena is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. CST.

-GoJacks.com-