JACKRABBITS HOLD OFF MAVERICKS

Thursday, January 18

Brookings, S.D.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Omaha

Charlie Easley

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

1/18/2024 10:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

BROOKINGS, S.D. — South Dakota State finished with five double-digit scorers and fended off an Omaha comeback bid to earn a 90-87 victory on Thursday, Jan. 18, in Summit League men's basketball at Frost Arena.

The Jackrabbits led by as many as eight in the first half and shot 54.8% from the floor, however six offensive rebounds that led to eight second chance points kept the Mavericks within striking distance, as SDSU held a 41-39 edge at halftime.

A 7-for-8 stretch from the field for the Jacks early in the second half pushed the margin into double digits. South Dakota State used a seven-point scoring run to push out to a 64-50 advantage with 11 minutes, 27 seconds to play.

SDSU's double-digit lead remained until the 5:11 mark when a Tony Osburn 3-pointer for Omaha made it 78-69. That began a seven-point scoring run for the Mavs as they cut the deficit to four in less than a minute.

The Mavericks cut the score to a single possession on a Marquel Sutton dunk with 3:18 on the clock. The Jackrabbits responded as Charlie Easley scored five straight points, which included a three-point play, on two consecutive possessions to put SDSU ahead 86-78.

A pair of Omaha free throws, two missed offensive opportunities for the Jacks, as well as back-to-back layups by the Mavs made it an 86-84 score with 48 seconds to play.

SDSU inbounded the ball and had a missed shot with 25 seconds on the clock. Easley came away with an offensive rebound and was fouled, sending him to the foul line where he hit both of his free throw attempts.

Omaha's JJ White drained a 3-pointer on the Mavericks' next time down the court to trim the deficit to 88-87 with 14 seconds remaining. The Jackrabbits' next inbound play saw Easley get the ball and he was fouled again. He made another two free throws to put the Jackrabbits in front 90-87 as 12 seconds sat on the clock.

The Mavs' final 3-point attempt to tie the contest before the buzzer didn't fall and time expired with South Dakota State claiming the home conference victory.

South Dakota State improved to 10-9 overall and 3-1 in Summit League action. Omaha dropped to 10-10 and now hold a 3-2 record in conference play.

Notes

Zeke Mayo scored a team-high 21 points to lead the Jackrabbits. He was joined in double digits by Easley (17), Matt Mims (14), William Kyle III (12) and Kalen Garry (12). The point output for Mims was a season high as he went 5-for-6 from the floor.
Kyle III had an SDSU-high five assists matching his career-best mark, while he also grabbed seven rebounds and matched his season high of three blocks. Mayo and Nate Barnhart each had three assists. Easley led SDSU with nine rebounds which matched his career high.
Easley went 9-for-9 from the free line which represented career highs in both makes and attempts at the charity stripe for the senior guard.
The Jackrabbits outshot the Mavs 53.4%-44.3% from the field, while both sides made 10 3-pointers, but the Mavs were strong at the free throw line and on the boards. Omaha was 23-for-26 (88.5%) at the charity stripe to SDSU's 18-for-23 (78.3%) clip. The Mavericks outrebounded the Jacks 35-32 with eight coming on the offensive glass.
Sutton and Frankie Fidler were Omaha's leading scorers with 20 apiece. Fidler, the Mavs' leading scorer coming into the contest, was held to 3 of 14 from the field but made all 12 of his free throw opportunities. White scored 17 for Omaha and Osburn recorded 13. Sutton had a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds.
South Dakota State earned its ninth straight victory over Omaha and has won 14 of the last 16 meetings between the two teams.

Up Next
South Dakota State travels to Vermillion to face South Dakota on Saturday. The 'Interstate Series' presented by First Interstate Bank pits the Jackrabbits and Coyotes squaring off in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center at 1 p.m.

-GoJacks.com-