BROOKINGS South Dakota State picked up its biggest win of the season on Thursday night as the Jackrabbits beat Omaha 98-85 at First Bank & Trust Arena.
SDSU (17-9, 8-3) moved to a game and a half back of the Mavericks (16-11, 10-2) for first place in the Summit League. Jackrabbit head coach Eric Henderson said heading into Thursdays game he didnt want to make it bigger than it was, but he acknowledged afterwards that his team needed to have a performance like that.
[The win] was needed, but we just enjoy the moment. We try not to make anything bigger than it actually is. Its a game. We love to compete and we want to get better. We knew we had a tough challenge tonight and we have a lot of respect for them and their players. Theyre playing well and are very connected. We needed [this win] if we wanted to stay in the race [for first place] and I give our guys a lot of credit for the fight that they had, Henderson said.
SDSU looked as though it was going to pull away in the first half but the Mavericks ended the half strong. SDSU used a 14-6 run to go up 48-35 with 2:23 to go in the half. The Mavericks then outscored the Jacks 10-0 in the final two minutes and cut the lead to 48-45 at halftime.
The Jacks didnt let the end of the first half discourage them though as they opened the second half with a 6-0 run. Omaha cut the lead to 55-51 but SDSU then went on a 7-1 run to go up double digits with 14 minutes left. The Jacks held a double-digit lead the rest of the game and were able to cruise to victory in the final eight minutes.
Omaha won the first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 11. In that game SDSU was outscored 16-2 in the final five minutes of the first half and then the Mavericks went on a 12-4 run in the first three and a half minutes of the second half. That put them up 17 and the Jacks never recovered.
Henderson said his team talked about not having a repeat performance on Thursday night and making sure that they started the second half better and putting the end of the first half behind them.
We were pretty disappointed with how we played at their place. It was a little eerily similar with a pretty poor finish to the first half, which we had down there. So, we talked about how the first part of [the second] half was going to be really important because when we were at their place it wasnt so good for us and we got down a fair amount. We talked about flushing that stuff that happened at the end of the half and making sure we stay true to who we are and our guys did a great job of that, Henderson said.
SDSUs defense played a big part in the Jacks pulling away in the second half. The Mavericks shot 38.2% from the field in the second half and SDSU freshman guard Joe Sayler said the Jacks made adjustments on how they were guarding the ball at halftime.
I think we made a couple adjustments on the ball and going under [screens] on certain personnel. I think they also made tough shots in the first half and you have to tip your cap sometimes. We just stayed connected and played good defense and their shots didnt fall like they wanted them to, Sayler said.
SDSU shot 55.2% from the field and was 10-of-20 from three. It was the second straight game that the Jacks shot over 55% from the field and in their last game against St. Thomas, they scored 102 points.
Henderson said the Jacks offense has been putting up a lot of points lately because theyre sharing the ball and gaining confidence.
Weve had great balance. I think the balance [has helped]. Weve had multiple ways to score. Our young guys are gaining some confidence now. We have strides to make, but theyre gaining confidence, Henderson said.
Oscar Cluff led the Jacks with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Sayler had 19 points and Owen Larson had 18 points. Kalen Garry had 12 points and Damon Wilkinson had 10 points.
It was the fifth-straight game that Larson scored in double digits. Henderson said its been nice to see him score but hes been more impressed with the way hes been taking care of the ball. Larson has not had more than two turnovers in a game since the conference opener against Denver.
I know hes scoring it a little bit better, which is terrific. Hes been taking great shots and really controlling the game for us. But mostly, hes been taking care of the basketball so much better than he was at the beginning of the year. Its great to see growth out of him and hes making a great impact and his confidence is continuing to grow, which is great to see, Henderson said.
Omaha had two players score 20 points in Marquell Sutton and Tony Osborne. JJ White had 12 points and eight assists and Lance Waddles had 10 points.
SDSU had a 37-28 advantage in rebounds. The Jacks had 10 turnovers and the Mavericks had seven. SDSU was 24-of-29 at the free throw line and Omaha was 16-of-20.
SDSU will head south next as it will take on in-state rival South Dakota on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Vermillion. The Coyotes have won four-straight games, while the Jacks have won six of their last seven. Henderson said its going to be a battle on Sunday.
[USD] is playing with a ton of confidence and theyll be on their home floor and theyll probably have a little revenge factor. But at the end of the day, when you play a rival like South Dakota, it doesnt matter whats happened in the past. I think both teams are playing really well and both teams are confident. Its going to be a great basketball game, Henderson said.
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