JACKRABBITS STUN PIONEERS IN COMEBACK VICTORY

Thursday, February 16

Denver, CO

8 p.m.

South Dakota State University

16-11,11-4Summit League

Denver

13-16,4-12Summit League

South Dakota St.

Denver

Photo by: Andrew Pedersen

2/16/2023 11:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

DENVER, Colo. – South Dakota State completed another 10-plus point second half comeback bid, its third of the 2022-23 season, working back from an 18-point deficit to defeat Denver 80-75 in Hamilton Gymnasium on Thursday.

Denver's Lukas Kisunas made a layup with 13 minutes, 12 seconds remaining to put the Pioneers up 59-41. Their largest lead of the game lasted 50 seconds as Zeke Mayo hit a 3-pointer with 12:21 left to make it a 15-point margin. It began what would be a 30-12 run over an 8:20 span for the Jacks.

SDSU cut the Denver lead to single digits with just under 10 minutes remaining behind an Alex Arians three-point play. The Jackrabbits ran a full-court press over the final 12 minutes of the game, making it a one-possession contest with 5:12 left on a Matt Mims 3-pointer. Another and-one opportunity for the Jacks, this time by Matthew Mors, tied the score at 71 with four minutes to play.

Five consecutive points by Mayo gave SDSU its largest lead of the night, a 76-71 advantage with 1:39 to go. The Pioneers' Tommy Bruner connected on three free throws in the next minute of play to push the score to 76-74. A turnover on SDSU's ensuing possession led to another Denver chance at the free throw line to tie the score.

With 21 seconds left on the clock, Denver's Tevin Smith missed his first free throw attempt, but made the second. Mayo was fouled on SDSU's subsequent possession and he made two free throws to propel the Jackrabbits ahead 78-75 with 13 seconds remaining. Bruner missed a 3-point attempt on the Pioneers' next offensive opportunity. Charlie Easley collected the defensive rebound and made two free throws to cap the 18-point rally by the Jacks.

Denver held an 11-point lead, 39-28, at the halftime break. The Pioneers took advantage of a 12-for-23 (52.2%) shooting half which included a 4-for-8 mark from 3-point range. They also made 10 of their 12 free throw attempts. SDSU was just 11 of 27 in the first half shooting and 2-for-7 from deep.

The Jackrabbits shot 59.3% (16-27) in the second half and made 16 of their 18 (88.9%) free throw opportunities. SDSU forced nine Denver turnovers in the final 20 minutes of action.

Zeke Mayo scored a game-high 27 points with 23 coming in the second half. He also had a team-high three assists. Joining Mayo in double digits scoring were Mors (11), William Kyle III (11) and Matt Dentlinger (10). Dentlinger also had five rebounds while Kyle III had two blocks.

The Jackrabbits improved to 16-11 overall and 11-4 in Summit League play. The Pioneers dropped to 13-16 (4-12).

Notes

South Dakota State has now won 12 straight matchups against Denver.
The Jackrabbits' 18-point second half comeback is tied for the 12th largest in Division I men's basketball this season. SDSU's 23-point comeback versus Eastern Washington on Dec. 10 still stands in a tie for the largest this year. The Jacks also had a 13-point comeback victory over North Dakota on Jan. 7.
Denver was led by 17-point scorers in Smith and Justin Mullins. Touko Tainamo had 13 points and eight rebounds. Bruner, the Pioneers' leading scorer coming into the contest, was held to nine points on 1-for-10 from the field.
The Jackrabbits' 11-4 mark has them alone in second place in The Summit League standings. Trailing SDSU are North Dakota State (9-6), St. Thomas (8-7) and Western Illinois (8-7).

Up Next
The Jackrabbits continue their road trip on Saturday when they face the Omaha Mavericks in Baxter Arena at 7 p.m.

-GoJacks.com-