BROOKINGS North Dakota State out battled South Dakota State on Wednesday night and came away with a 77-68 victory at First Bank & Trust Arena.
The Bison led for 38 minutes and 17 seconds in the game and answered every Jackrabbit punch in the second half.
I just dont think we were ready to go, said SDSU freshman guard Joe Sayler. Our energy wasnt where it needed to be. We got them at their place, so coming into this game we had a target on our back, like we do every game. I just think we werent ready to go from the start.
SDSU head coach Eric Henderson echoed Saylers comments, saying that the teams lead up to the game wasnt great.
Unfortunately, I maybe saw this coming a little bit. We didnt have great practices on Monday and Tuesday. I didnt feel like we had the urgency or the edge. I felt like [NDSU] had the edge on us a little bit. They played a little more connected tonight and had a little more edge, so they beat us, Henderson said.
NDSU led 16-10 six minutes into the game and SDSU then cut the lead to 16-15. The Jacks went up 22-21 with 8:35 to play in the first half but the Bison answered with a 7-2 run. It was then 35-32 with 2:32 left in the half but NDSU scored the final five points of the half and led 40-32 at halftime.
The Bison stretched the lead to 48-37 four minutes into the second half. They then led 58-49 with 11:34 left in the game as Jackson Moni scored eight-straight points for the Bison. He finished with 28 points and Sayler said he thought the Jacks just didnt do a good job of making things tough on Moni.
Hes a great player. He can space the floor and shoot it really well, and obviously, he can score around the rim too. I just thought he was getting everything. He was getting a little bit of everything with scoring down low and making some shots on the perimeter. He’s tough defensively to guard, but we did it at their place, so I just think it was whether we were ready to go or not, Sayler said.
The Jacks went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 60-57 with just over eight minutes left. Jacari White then hit a three and made a tough layup to put the Bison up eight with six minutes to play. SDSU made it a four-point game with just under three minutes to go but then an and-one from Tajavis Miller and a dunk from Noah Feddersen sealed the deal for the Bison.
Henderson noted that letting NDSU make open shots early led to them hitting tough clutch shots down the stretch.
There were a couple of shots [that they made in the second half] that were really, really hard. But when you dont make them miss early, those shots become a little easier, Henderson said.
SDSU shot 39% from the field and was 10-of-30 from three. Jackrabbit point guard Owen Larson said the 3-point shooting was a mixture of the shot selection from the Jacks and the defense the Bison played.
Credit to them. They had a great game plan, but I think our shot selection couldve been much better. Its hard once you get down to try and come back and be stubborn, but it happens, Larson said.
Sayler and Oscar Cluff led the Jacks with 14 points each. Cluff also had 10 rebounds but at halftime he had just five points and four rebounds. Henderson said the Bison did a good job of throwing different things at Cluff, but SDSU needed to do a better job of making NDSU pay when they doubled him.
They doubled Cluff early and wanted to make it really hard for him around the hoop. They did a good job of mixing it up. They put some smaller guys on him and beat him up. Weve seen that before and its been successful at times, even though when they do that, theres things that we can take advantage of and we didnt do a good job of that tonight, Henderson said.
Larson had 13 points, six rebounds and four assists. Jaden Jackson had 11 points and started the game in place of Kalen Garry, who missed the game with an ankle injury. Henderson did not say how long the Jacks would be without Garry. He noted that SDSU missed his presence, but that was not the reason it lost on Wednesday night.
Hes a big part of what we do, but thats no excuse and its not why we lost tonight. Do we miss some of the things he brings to the table? Sure. Like some of the energy and tenacity that he plays with. But we have other guys. Hes probably our best defender on the perimeter and what he does offensively and toughness wise and rebounding wise, he also has the most assists on our team in conference play. So, hes pretty valuable, Henderson said.
NDSU shot 47% from the field and was 12-of-32 from beyond the arc.Tajavis Miller had 15 points for the Bison. Maysen Miller had 14 points and White had 13 points.
The Jacks had 10 turnovers that led to 11 NDSU points, while the Bison had four turnovers that led to four SDSU points.
With the loss, the Jacks remained in third place in the Summit League. St. Thomas lost to South Dakota on Wednesday night and Omaha now sits in first place. The Jackrabbits a game and a half back of the Mavericks and one game back of the Tommies. SDSU will host Kansas City in its home finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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