College men's basketball: Jackrabbits drop fourth straight game, this time to Montana

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MISSOULA, Mont. – South Dakota State lost its fourth straight game on Tuesday night as the Jackrabbits lost to Montana, 81-56.

All four losses in the Jackrabbits (3-7) losing streak have come by double digits. SDSU head coach Eric Henderson said he’s glad his fans and players are upset with the poor start because that shows where the program’s expectations are.

“I’ll tell you this much, I’d rather have [high] expectations than be a part of a program somewhere and some places that don’t. We’re fortunate that people care, that people want us to be successful and do it the right way too, and that’s what we’re going to get to. I’ve told people, and not that it matters, but our locker room knows were not where we need to be, and we know there’s probably some changes that need to be made. You look at how you’re doing it and who’s doing it, and that’s what we need to evaluate,” Henderson said.

Just like the other three losses, SDSU fell behind big early as the Jacks trailed the Grizzlies 12-4 at the first media timeout. It would only get worse for the Jacks as the half moved on. Montana outscored SDSU 27-10 in the final 8:51 of the half and led 48-24 at the break.

“… The thing that just eats at my heart is that there’s been three times this year where I’ve felt like we just haven’t been ready to throw the first punch. That’s the team that we need to be and that’s the team that we’re going to become. … Are we doing everything as a staff and a team to make that happen? To control what we can control? To me, that’s where I have to make sure that we’re the more aggressive team and we’re the ones that are throwing punches because that’s what we’ve been [in the past],” Henderson said.

The Grizzlies largest lead of the night came with 2:46 to play as they led 81-46. SDSU was able to finish the game on a 10-0 run to make the final 81-56.

SDSU shot 33.3% from the field and was 2-18 (11%) from three. Redshirt freshman transfer Matthew Mors led the Jacks with 15 points and five rebounds. Zeke Mayo had 11 points and Matt Dentlinger had 12.

Henderson said it was encouraging to see Mors be more aggressive, but now he wants to see it on a nightly basis.

“[Mors] is being more aggressive and that’s what we told him. You have to look to be more aggressive because he’s a great foul shooter and he’s a physical player. He needs to attack more downhill and be aggressive. Obviously, he can shoot it as well, so he has some versatility, but he’s finding his way in our offense and being more comfortable. The aggressive spirit that he had tonight, he needs to carry that on. You can’t just say hello when it’s time to say goodbye. You have to be able to have that from the get-go,” Henderson said.

The Grizzlies shot 56.6% from the field and were 8-23 from three. Brandon Whitney had 23 points and was 10-12 from the field to lead Montana. Aanen Moody had 20 points

SDSU has played nine of its first 10 games away from Brookings. The Jacks will now return home for a three-game stretch in Brookings that begins with a matchup against Eastern Washington (3-5) on Saturday at 4 p.m. Henderson said his team is looking forward to returning home and hoping that they can get things back on track during the home stand.

“We’re excited [to play at home], but you can’t take it for granted,” Henderson said. “You can’t think, oh we’re going to Frost Arena so we’re going to win. Like I said, everybody smells blood with us right now. Are they leaking oil? We’re going to be alright. We just have to be a little more consistent. … To be able to be back there is going to be special and I know I’m [excited] and I know our guys are excited.

“I can tell you this much, I know what our record is, but it’s going to take a hell of a lot more to chop this tree down. I love that group in the locker room and we’re going to continue to keep fighting, we’re going to stay together and we’re going to get this thing put in a place where you’re going to see on a nightly basis what this team is about. We’re going to throw the first punches; we’re going to be the more aggressive team and we’re going to get that swagger back.”