SPARTANS TOO MUCH FOR JACKS IN SUN BOWL FINALE

Thursday, December 21

El Paso, Texas

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

6-7,0-0Summit League

Norfolk State

9-6,0-0MEAC

South Dakota St.

Norfolk St.

Nate Barnhart

Photo by: Andrew Pedersen

12/21/2023 8:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

EL PASO, Texas — Norfolk State produced its best shooting performance of the season, while South Dakota State struggled from the field for the second consecutive night, as the Spartans defeated the Jackrabbits 84-65 in the finale of the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational on Thursday.

A majority of the first half was deadlocked between Norfolk State and SDSU. The Spartans jumped out to a six-point lead eight minutes into the contest, but the Jacks tied the score at 21-21 following a steal and fastbreak layup by Bubz Alvarez with 7:02 on the clock.

Nate Barnhart made a layup on SDSU's next possession to put the Jackrabbits ahead, 23-21. It would be SDSU's lone advantage for the rest of the contest as Norfolk State's George Beale Jr. hit a 3-pointer the Spartans' next time down the court.

A layup by SDSU's Luke Appel tied the score at 30 with 3:30 left in the first half. The Spartans responded by going on a 7-0 run, along with scoring 10 of the half's final 12 points, to take a 40-32 lead into halftime.

Kalen Garry hit a 3-pointer and Zeke Made connected on a jumper to begin the second half for the Jacks, however the Spartans ran away over the game's final 17 minutes. A Daryl Anderson 3-pointer with 11:21 to go put the game's margin into double digits for good.

Norfolk State shot season best marks of 58.8% from the floor and 57.9% from 3-point range in the victory. South Dakota State had its third worst outing from the field as the Jacks finished with a 42.1% clip shooting. The Spartans improved to 9-6 overall while the Jackrabbits fell to 6-7.

Notes

The Spartans had four double-digit scorers and were paced by Jack Doumbia's 17 points. Tyrel Bladen had a game-high nine rebounds and Jamarii Thomas had a game-high five assists.
Garry led the Jackrabbits in scoring with 17 points. He was followed by Zeke Mayo (11) and Barnhart (10). Appel had a team-high seven rebounds while Alvarez had a team-high four assists.

Up Next
South Dakota State will have one game left in 2023 and it takes place back in its home confines. The Jackrabbits begin Summit League play on New Year's Eve when SDSU hosts North Dakota inside Frost Arena for a 2 p.m. matchup.

-GoJacks.com-