DEFENSE HELPS JACKS SURVIVE LATE IN WIN OVER CARDINALS

Tuesday, December 9

Muncie, Ind.

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

6-5,0-0Summit League

Ball State

3-7,0-0MAC

South Dakota St.

Ball St.

Kalen Garry

Photo by: Megan Glover | South Dakota State

12/9/2025 9:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

MUNCIE, Ind. – South Dakota State used a second-half run to pull ahead of Ball State, then withstood a rally by the host Cardinals, en route to a 68-64 victory on Tuesday at Worthen Arena.

Ball State led for a majority of the first half. The Cardinals led by as many as seven, but the Jackrabbits kept the margin within a possession from the 13:46 mark on. A Kalen Garry 3-pointer gave South Dakota State a brief advantage with 56 seconds remaining in the opening half before two Ball State free throws made it 40-39 at the break.

SDSU's Damon Wilkinson made a layup with 15 minutes, 53 seconds left in the second half to give the Jacks a 44-43 edge. The foes traded baskets for the next four-and-a-half minutes.

South Dakota State took control for a good portion of the second half at that point.

A Jaden Jackson 3-pointer, four straight points by Garry and a Wilkinson dunk were all part of a 9-0 scoring run for the Jackrabbits. The run lasted 2:30 as SDSU led by a 62-53 margin.

Alec Squires converted on two free throws to put the Jacks ahead, 66-54, with 7:29 to go. That served as SDSU's largest lead of the night. Wilkinson finished a layup to put the Jackrabbits on top, 66-59, as the clock stopped at 5:15. It served as SDSU's last field goal of the game.

The Jackrabbits went scoreless over the next five minutes of play. The Cardinals got the score to one possession, 66-64, as the time winded down to 3:26. A stingy defensive effort by SDSU kept Ball State at bay.

South Dakota State forced four missed field goals and a turnover over the next three minutes of action. While the Jackrabbit offense couldn't convert in that same span, SDSU eventually held on to the same lead and had the ball with 30 seconds left. The Jackrabbits' last possession saw the Yellow and Blue missed two shot attempts, however two offensive rebounds kept the ball in favor of SDSU.

Jaden Jackson was eventually fouled with five seconds remaining. He went to the free throw line and iced the contest by making both of his attempts.

South Dakota State was 11-for-25 (44%) from the field in the second half. The Jacks held the Cardinals to an 8 of 30 (26.7%) clip.

SDSU picked up its second consecutive road win and is now 6-5 overall this season. Ball State fell to 3-7 overall. The meeting was the first ever between the two programs.

NOTES

South Dakota State finished the contest outshooting Ball State 46-36% from the floor. SDSU was also 8 of 19 (42.1%) from long range while the Cardinals were just 6-for-27 (22.2%).
Four Jackrabbits finished in double digits scoring. Garry had a team- and season-high 15 points. He also dished out a career-high seven assists to go along with a season-high eight rebounds.
Wilkinson scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He also had a career-high three blocks in 23 minutes for the Jacks.
Matthew Mors and Jaden Jackson had 10 points apiece. Joe Sayler and Caleb Delzell both had three assists, while Sayler produced two steals.

UP NEXT
South Dakota State returns to Brookings for its next contest. The Jackrabbits host Dakota Wesleyan at 7 p.m. on Friday inside First Bank & Trust Arena.

-GoJacks.com-