Senior Matt Dentlinger scored a season-high 22 points and sophomore Zeke Mayo recorded a double-double to help lead the South Dakota State men’s basketball team to a 71-64 victory on Saturday, Dec. 31, over St. Thomas in Frost Arena.
St. Thomas jumped out early with momentum in the contest as the Tommies had a 13-4 lead with less than five minutes off the clock. SDSU held the Tommies to just 14 points over the next 15 minutes and the Jackrabbits’ 46.7% clip from the field helped boost SDSU to a 32-27 edge at halftime.
The second half saw the Jackrabbits improve their lead into double digits early as Dentlinger scored eight of SDSU’s first 10 points. The Jacks eventually had a 17-point lead, 61-44, with just over eight minutes left.
The Tommies whittled away at the deficit and made it a 66-62 contest with 1:08 remaining following a pair of Brooks Allen free throws. Following a turnover, SDSU was able to keep St. Thomas off the board despite four opportunities at the rim. Dentlinger was ensuingly fouled and hit two free throws. Another free throw by Alex Arians and a pair by Mayo sealed the win for the Jackrabbits.
SDSU outshot the Tommies 46.8-39.6% in the matchup with each team shooting under 30% from 3-point range. The Tommies went 15 of 22 (68.2%) from the free throw line while the Jacks went 8 of 10 from the charity stripe. SDSU tied its season low of nine turnovers while forcing 15 St. Thomas turnovers.
The Jackrabbits improved to 2-1 in Summit League play and 7-8 overall. The Tommies dropped to 2-2 in conference action and 11-6 overall.
Notes
• Dentlinger went 9-for-10 from the floor in his 22-point performance. The 20-point effort was the ninth of his college career. He also had four rebounds and two blocks.
• Mayo registered his second double-double of the season as he finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Mayo also led SDSU with five assists.
• Alex Arians joined them in double digits scoring with 10 points, while his nine rebounds matched his season high. He made his 128th career start to become the program record holder in the category.
• St. Thomas was led by Allen who scored a game-high 30 points. St. Thomas leading scorers coming into the matchup in Andre Rohde (15.1), Riley Miller (14.8) and Parker Bjorklund (14.6) were held to eight, six and five points, respectively.
Up Next
South Dakota State begins 2023 with a matchup at North Dakota State on Thursday, Jan. 5.
