South Dakota State saw its double digit comeback effort run out of time on Wednesday night at Denver, falling 91-82 at Magness Arena.
SDSU (9-14, 2-6 Summit League) shot just under 50 percent (49.2) in the game and hit 15 3-pointers as a team, but Denver (9-12, 5-3) finished at 50 percent from the field, hitting 11 3-pointers while a plus-eight margin in second chance points helped the Pioneers secure the win.
Mike Daum led the Jacks with 29 points, hitting five 3-pointers with a 6 of 9 effort at the charity stripe. A.J. Hess sin four 3-pointers on his way to 19 points for the Jacks and Ian Theisen joined the pair in double figures with 10 points.
Looking to mount a second half comeback, SDSU found itself down 18 just 94 seconds into the period before starting a slow climb back into single digits. Down 57-39 with 15:37 to play, SDSU showed life with an 11-4 run over a span of 2:42 to cut the deficit to 11 (61-50), forcing a DU timeout at 12:25. The Jacks continued to chip away, pulling within 10 (70-60) near the 7:30 mark, nine (75-66) at 4:18 and eight (77-69) with 3:45 to play.
