BROOKINGS South Dakota State picked up its third straight win on Thursday night as the Jackrabbits pulled away from Kansas City down the stretch and came away with a 75-66 victory.
SDSU improved to 12-9 overall and 5-1 in the Summit League with the win. The Jacks and the Roos (8-13, 2-4) were tied 66-66 with 2:46 to play and SDSU was able to score the final nine points of the game. Luke Appel started the run with 2:15 left as he had his shot blocked but picked it back up and hit a baseline hook shot. He said he just wanted to get a shot up as the shot clock was winding down.
I just knew the shot clock was running out. I got blocked again, I got blocked a lot of times, but I got blocked and had to get something up there because the shot clock was running out, Appel said.
Matt Mims then knocked down two free throws and Zeke Mayo followed with a lay up with just under a minute to play to put the Jacks up six. Two more free throws from Mims and a single free throw from Charlie Easley made the final 75-66.
Coming into conference play the Jacks had lost five games by single digits and three of them were by three points or less. Theyve now won three straight games that have been decided by single digits and SDSU head coach Eric Henderson said his team learned a lot from the close losses at the beginning of the season.
We took some bumps early. But Im an educator and I love learning from every moment that were in and thats how we try to approach it with our guys. We made some mistakes early in the season down the stretch. Not just our players, but the coaches too. Some schematic things that we wish we would have had back too. I always preach to them, lets continue to grow and learn. So, I think [losing those close games earlier in the season] has been why weve been able to knock out some of these close games [lately], Henderson said.
SDSU seemed like it was in control after a 20-0 run in the first half helped the Jacks take a 36-26 lead into halftime. The Jacks then led 51-39 with just under 14 minutes left but the Roos outscored SDSU 25-12 the next eight minutes and led by two with 5:53 left in the game.
Kansas City was able to get back into the game with some hot shooting as the Roos hit their first seven 3-pointers of the second half. Easley said Kansas City made some tough shots but the Jacks have to do a better job of playing with a lead.
Credit to them. Some of it was missing some assignments for us, but they hit shots in the second half. They started off 7-for-7 and that will get back in the game, and thats what they did. They made it close, and this next step for us is, we have to learn how to start closing games better and go on runs in the second half to get ahead by a lot, Easley said.
Henderson added that he thought the team relaxed a bit when the lead grew to double digits in the second half.
You get up [double digits], and weve talked about it with this team, you cant relax. The game is only 40 minutes long. It takes a lot of energy, but its 40 minutes for a reason. You dont relax. Have that edge for 40 minutes and dont save yourself for anything. Just compete with that edge the entire game, Henderson said.
SDSU shot 49.1% from the field on Thursday night and held a 48-14 advantage in the paint. The Jacks took just 11 3-pointers in the game and made only two of them. Henderson said his team throughout the years has done a good job of taking whats given to them.
There probably arent a lot of programs that are as stubborn as us, and I give our guys a lot of credit. The other team has to some decisions to make too and they allowed us to throw it into the post and they were going to go one-on-one in the post and go over every screen and make [Mayo] play inside the arc. Our guys stubbornness and willingness to give what the defense gives us has been incredible over the past five years, Henderson said.
Appel led the Jacks with 19 points and four rebounds. It was his second straight game scoring in double figures and after battling through injuries all of last year, hes starting to feel more like the player who won Summit League Sixth Man of the Year in 2022.
Its coming back. Its just confidence. My coaches have been telling me to be more aggressive and trust it. Its just playing within the system and doing what my teammates need me to do, Appel said.
Mims had 15 points, five rebounds and two steals. Easley had 11 points, 12 rebounds and two steals. William Kyle III had 13 points and seven rebounds.
Kansas City finished the night shooting 15-of-38 from three and 36.4% from the field. The Roos were led by Jamar Brown who had 17 points and five rebounds. Cameron Faas had 11 points and five rebounds. Khristion Courseault had 10 points and five rebounds and Yulian Ramirez-Montero had nine points.
SDSU held a 41-34 advantage on the glass. The Jacks were 17-of-24 at the free throw line and the Roos were 3-of-6 at the charity stripe. SDSU had 12 turnovers and Kansas City had 11.
Before this three-game win streak SDSU had been struggling to defend and Henderson made it a point that he wanted to get better on that side of the floor. The Jacks have responded as in two of the three wins theyve held their opponents under 70 points and in all three of them they held the opponent to under 45% shooting from the field.
Henderson said after Thursdays game that the past three games have shown that the Jacks can find a different way to win every night.
Ive talked about [winning in different ways] from the very beginning. It hasnt always been the case, but our ability to score in different ways and being much more versatile than last year, I think I always thought was a reason this team could have success. I think its happening right now, Henderson said.
SDSU will hit the road next as the Jacks play at Oral Roberts on Saturday. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and you can watch the game on the Summit League Network.
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