DEFENSIVE EFFORT CARRIES SDSU TO TITLE GAME

Monday, March 11

Sioux Falls, S.D. (Denny Sanford PREMIER Center)

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

21-12,12-4Summit League

St. Thomas

20-13,9-7Summit League

St. Thomas (MN)

South Dakota St.

Photo by: Joclyn Haven

3/11/2024 9:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – South Dakota State completed a gritty victory over St. Thomas on Monday in the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, 59-49, to earn its spot in The Summit League Championship title contest.

The Jackrabbits and Tommies brought both teams' best defensive efforts to the floor Monday evening in a physical meeting. After an opening field goal by South Dakota State, St. Thomas' Parker Bjorklund and Kendall Blue converted on 3-pointers to give the Tommies a 6-2 lead.

A Charlie Easley 3-pointer cut the deficit to 6-5 before the first media timeout. Kalen Garry drained a 3-pointer to give the Jackrabbits an 8-6 edge which eventually led to an 8-8 score on a layup by St. Thomas' Ryan Dufault.

Following an exchange of possessions, SDSU's Luke Appel drained a 3-pointer with 12 minutes, 5 seconds remaining in the opening half to push the Jackrabbits ahead 11-8.

South Dakota State would spend the rest of the contest fending off St. Thomas from taking over the lead.

The Jackrabbits had two separate seven-point scoring runs during the course of the first half and led by as many as 10. Another Garry 3-pointer put the Jacks up 25-15 mark as the clock dipped under four minutes.

St. Thomas scored 10 of the final 13 points of the first half to cut the deficit to 28-25 at the halftime break.

The Tommies scored the opening field goal of the second half to cut the score to 28-27. The Jackrabbits responded as Matt Mims connected on a 3-pointer and a jump shot on consecutive possessions, then a William Kyle III layup made it 35-27 to cap another seven-point scoring spree.

SDSU again had to withstand a St. Thomas rally. A Brooks Allen 3-pointer with 11:46 left trimmed the Jackrabbit advantage to 37-36.

The Jackrabbits replied to the one-possession margin with an Appel hook shot and 3-pointer made, followed by a Kyle III dunk. That extended SDSU's edge to 44-36 with 8:44 remaining. The Jackrabbits' lead never got back down to a single possession. St. Thomas had the deficit down to five with less than a minute on the clock, but five Charlie Easley free throws down the wire closed the contest out.

SDSU finished the night with a 43-33% shooting edge. The Jackrabbits knocked down nine 3-pointers to the Tommies' seven, while SDSU held St. Thomas to a 24% clip from deep. The Jacks forced 11 turnovers while committing nine.

Easley ended the game by leading the Jackrabbits with 13 points. He was followed by Mayo (11) and Appel (10). Appel tied his career high of six assists to go along with six rebounds. Easley had a team-high eight rebounds to go along with two steals, while Kyle III had two blocks.

South Dakota State improved to 21-12 overall on the season with the victory while advancing to The Summit League Championship title game. The Tommies' season came to a close with a 20-13 mark.

Notes

The Jackrabbits are now 27-9 all-time at The Summit League tournament. SDSU will be making its eighth all-time appearance in the conference title game. The Jackrabbits have won six of the showings (2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022) and lost one in 2015 to North Dakota State.
SDSU produced one of its best defensive performances of the season. The Jackrabbits' 49 points given up are the second least by an SDSU opponent this season, only topping 48 given up to Towson on Dec. 1 in a matchup at the Sanford Pentagon.
The 49 points allowed by the Jackrabbits are the lowest output in 11 years by an SDSU opponent. SDSU won a 66-49 quarterfinal game over IUPUI in Sioux Falls Arena at the 2013 tournament.

Up Next
The Jackrabbits will play in the title matchup of The Summit League Championship. South Dakota State will play at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. The Jacks await the winner of Monday evening's game between Denver and Omaha. The championship game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

-GoJacks.com-