RENO, Nev. – The South Dakota State men’s basketball team pushed No. 7 Nevada (11-0) to the brink Saturday evening but fell short in the upset bid during a 72-68 setback at Lawlor Events Center.
Skyler Flatten was one of three Jacks in double figures, leading the team with 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting with four 3-pointers. Owen King added 13 points and went 5-of-6 from the field with a trio of treys. Tevin King had 10 points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
Mike Daum was limited to five points on 1-of-10 shooting in 25 minutes of action before fouling out. David Jenkins went 2-of-9 and also scored five points, as both players grabbed eight rebounds.
Trailing by three, the Jackrabbits rattled off 10 consecutive points – including a buzzer-beating trey by Alex Arians – to carry a 40-33 lead into the locker room.
That advantage did not hold, however, as Nevada closed the gap quickly to open the second half, regaining the lead at 45-43 thanks to a 12-3 run before the under-16 media timeout. SDSU stopped the rally moments later and went up 47-45 on Owen King’s third trey of the night, but the Wolf Pack continued to push and soon grew its lead to 54-47 behind a 7-0 burst.
SDSU cut the deficit to 54-53 before the 9-minute mark and then pulled even at 56-56 with 7:57 remaining, but was unable to get over the hump. Flatten’s second-chance 3-pointer at 2:59 provided one last threat for the Jackrabbits, but Nevada scored the next six points to pull away for good.
Nevada’s Jordan Caroline finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. Caleb Martin scored 20 points. Trey Porter, who grabbed nine boards, and Cody Martin both added 12 markers.
South Dakota State (9-4) takes on Eastern Washington on Tuesday at 8:05 p.m. in Cheney, Wash.
No. 7 NEVADA 72, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 68
South Dakota State (9-4)
Mike Daum 1-10 3-4 5, Matt Dentlinger 0-1 0-0 0, Skyler Flatten 6-12 4-5 20, Tevin King 4-9 2-3 10, David Jenkins 2-9 0-0 5, Ryan Krueger 2-2 0-0 6, Owen King 5-6 0-0 13, Alex Arians 3-6 2-2 9. Totals 23-55 11-14 68.
Nevada (11-0)
Tre’Shawn Thurman 2-7 0-0 5, Trey Porter 3-6 6-7 12, Jordan Caroline 6-14 6-9 21, Caleb Martin 6-19 4-4 20, Cody Martin 4-8 2-2 12, Corey Henson 0-2 0-0 0, Nisre Zouzoua 1-8 0-1 2, Jordan Brown 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-65 18-23 72.
Halftime – SDSU 40-33. 3-point goals – SDSU 11-28 (Flatten 4-8, O. King 3-4, Krueger 2-2, Arians 1-2, Jenkins 1-4, Dentlinger 0-1, T. King 0-2, Daum 0-5), UN 10-39 (Caleb Martin 4-14, Caroline 3-6, Cody Martin 2-6, Thurman 1-5, Henson 0-2, Zouzoua 0-6). Rebounds – SDSU 41 (Daum, Jenkins 8), UN 37 (Porter, Caroline 9). Assists – SDSU 14 (T. King 5), UN 15 (Cody Martin 6). Steals – SDSU 2 (O. King, Arians 1), UN 4 (Caleb Martin 3). Blocks – SDSU 0, UN 6 (Porter 2). Turnovers – SDSU 15, UN 6. Total fouls – SDSU 24, UN 12. Fouled out – Daum, O. King. Technical fouls – none. A – 11,257.
