COLD SPELL DOOMS JACKS AGAINST UC IRVINE

Wednesday, November 26

Cancun, Mexico

7:30 p.m.

South Dakota State University

4-4,0-0Summit League

UC Irvine

4-4,0-0Big West

South Dakota St.

UC Irvine

Joe Sayler

Photo by: Megan Glover | South Dakota State

11/26/2025 9:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

CANCUN, Mexico – South Dakota State fell to tough-minded UC Irvine, 64-52, in the finale of the Cancun Challenge on Wednesday at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya.

SDSU held a 10-6 lead with 14 minutes, 12 seconds left in the first half following a Luke Haertle field goal. The two sides were eventually tied at 11 before consecutive 3-pointers made by the Anteaters made it 17-11 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the opening half.

The Jackrabbits remained in striking distance throughout the first 20 minutes of play. It was a one-possession game with under two minutes to go, but UC Irvine closed the half with four straight points to take a 29-22 lead into halftime.

UC Irvine extended its advantage to begin the second half as SDSU's offense couldn't find the bottom of the net. The Jacks scored just two points in the first 10 minutes of the half as SDSU fell down 39-24.

The Jacks didn't hit their first 3-pointer until the 9:29 mark of the second half. Trey Buchanan went on a personal six-point scoring run to get the deficit to single digits briefly with 1:09 to go.

UC Irvine, the choice to win the Big West according to its conference's preseason poll, improved to 4-4 with the win. SDSU evened its record to 4-4 in the loss.

NOTES

Both teams were held in check on offense. The Anteaters outshot the Jackrabbits 38.8-31.7% from the floor. They also finished with a 41-33 edge rebounding. SDSU did force 20 UCI turnovers.
Five Anteaters scored in double digits led by Jurian Dixon's 13 points. Kyle Evans logged a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. UC Irvine was 21-for-28 (75%) at the free throw line.
UC Irvine entered the contest as the Big West's best defensive team giving up less than 66 points per game. UCI is now 3-1 all-time against SDSU.
SDSU matched its 52 points it scored on Monday in a defeat to Utah Valley, matching a season-low output. The Jackrabbits' field goal percentage was a season-low mark while they went 10 of 17 at the charity stripe.
Buchanan led the Jacks in scoring with 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting. Haertle had a team-high seven rebounds.

UP NEXT
South Dakota State has a week break between contests. The Jackrabbits return to action when they travel to Flagstaff to take on Northern Arizona on Wednesday, Dec. 3, as a part of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge.

-GoJacks.com-