DENVER South Dakota State finished the regular season with a loss on Saturday afternoon as the Jackrabbits fell to Denver 78-62.
The Jacks fell behind early in the game and were never able to recover.
Denver jumped out to an 8-0 lead. The Pioneers then led 26-16 with seven and half minutes to go in the first half and the Jacks scored six-straight points to cut the lead to four. However, Denver took a 44-35 lead into the locker room.
The Pioneers then led 57-47 with 14:20 to go and went on a 7-0 to earn their largest lead of the game with 11:24 left. SDSU would cut the lead to 69-58 with 5:24 left but that was as close as the Jacks would get as Denver put the game away in the final five minutes.
SDSU shot 41.2% from the field and was 7-of-18 from three. The Jacks were led by Kalen Garry who had 18 points. Oscar Cluff had 13 points and four rebounds.
The Pioneers shot 45.2% from the field and were 11-of-29 from beyond the arc. Denver had four players score in double figures in Sebastian Akins (17), DeAndre Craig (16), Isaiah Addo-Ankrah (12) and Josh Pickett (11).
The Jacks had 17 turnovers that resulted in 28 Denver points. The Pioneers had 10 turnovers. SDSU won the rebound battle 36-33. The Jacks were 13-of-23 at the free throw line and the Pioneers were 11-of-13.
SDSU finished the regular season with a record of 20-11 overall and 11-5 in the Summit League. The Jacks will be No. 3 seed in the Summit League Tournament, which will begin Wednesday at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls. SDSUs first game in the tournament will be on Friday night and the Jacks will take on No. 6 seeded North Dakota. The Jacks and the Fighting Hawks split the season series with each home team winning.
Tip off between SDSU and UND is scheduled for 25 minutes after No. 4 seeded North Dakota State and South Dakota play and the Bison and Coyotes will tip things off at 6 p.m.
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