SDSU DROPS CLOSE CONTEST AT ST. THOMAS

Thursday, January 26

St. Paul, MN

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

St. Thomas

Zeke Mayo

Photo by: Andrew Pedersen

1/26/2023 9:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

ST PAUL, Minn. – In a contest that never saw either team take a more than seven-point lead, St. Thomas eventually outlasted South Dakota State by a score of 60-54 in a Summit League men's basketball matchup on Thursday in Schoenecker Arena.

The two sides kept things within a possession for a majority of the first half. SDSU claimed the largest edge in the opening 20 minutes on a Zeke Mayo 3-pointer. He made his fourth shot on his fourth attempt of the night to put the Jackrabbits up 27-21 with just over six minutes remaining in the opening half.

St. Thomas was boosted by two scoring runs on its home floor and the first came as the Tommies trailed by six. Behind a 3-pointer, two jumpers and two sets of opportunities at the free throw line, St. Thomas utilized an 11-2 run to take a 32-29 edge into halftime.

The second half opened with the Tommies taking advantage of a slow start by both teams to go up by five, but SDSU continued to keep the margin close early in the period. A Mayo 3-pointer at the 9:15 mark gave the Jacks their first lead of the half. He scored eight consecutive points with a second consecutive trey propelling SDSU ahead 47-46 with 7:46 remaining.

However, Ahjany Lee hit a jumper on St. Thomas' ensuing possession to put the Tommies back into the lead. St. Thomas wouldn't relinquish it again as the Tommies went on an 8-0 run to take a 54-47 advantage with five minutes to play.

SDSU cut the score to 54-50 with 3:41 left, but the Jacks couldn't cut whittle the deficit any closer than four. The Jackrabbits had two missed field goals and two free throws missed on the front of one-and-one opportunities before St. Thomas finally made it a 56-50 margin with 37 seconds remaining.

The Jackrabbits were led by a game-high 23 points from Mayo as he went 8-for-13 from the floor and 5 of 8 from 3-point range. He also had five rebounds and two steals. Matt Dentlinger scored 15 points and collected eight rebounds for the Jacks. SDSU played seven players on Thursday as the Jacks were without Alex Arians from their rotation of late due to personal reasons.

South Dakota State continues its three-game road trip on Saturday. The Jackrabbits head to Macomb to face Western Illinois at 2 p.m.

Notes

Mayo's 23-point effort extended his double-digit scoring streak to eight contests. He's now had 20-plus points in eight games this season.
The Jackrabbits outshot the Tommies 41-37%, but SDSU had 16 turnovers to St. Thomas' 12. SDSU also had a 36-32 advantage on the glass. The Tommies were 11 of 12 from the free throw line while SDSU went 3 of 5.
St. Thomas was led Andrew Rohde's 15 points. Rohde also had a game-high eight assists and four steals. He was followed in scoring by Lee who finished with 12. Brooks Allen had a game-high nine rebounds.
SDSU fell to 11-10 overall and 6-3 in Summit League play. St. Thomas improved to 14-9 (5-5). The Tommies earned their first win in the two sides' fourth meeting since St. Thomas joined The Summit League.

Up Next
South Dakota State plays the second of two games in Frost Arena this weekend when the Jackrabbits host Denver at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

-GoJacks.com-