BROOKINGS – Mike Daum broke the single-season school scoring record as South Dakota State steamrolled Denver 88-64 in a Summit League men’s basketball game Saturday evening at Frost Arena.
Daum scored 20 of his game-high 30 points in the first half as the Jackrabbits built a 41-26 advantage.
The sophomore has 773 points this season, breaking the previous mark of 747 set by Chris White during the 1991-92 campaign.
A layup by Chris Howell and a 3-pointer from A.J. Hess to open the second half quickly made it a 20-point game. The lead peaked at 25 points – 66-41 – following a 5-0 spurt with 12:46 remaining.
The Pioneers never got closer than 15 after that.
“We talked all week about defense; we really thought that that was going to be the key to the game – getting stops and then trying to get the ball going in transition,” said SDSU coach T.J. Otzelberger. “We weren’t real excited with the way we played at Denver (a 91-82 loss on Jan. 25); I thought physically they got the better of that matchup – both defensively and then on the glass.
“That was the challenge put in front of our guys and I’m happy with the effort. They really stepped up today.”
The Jackrabbits shot 56.9 percent (33-of-58) from the field, including a 14-of-28 clip from 3-point range. The Pioneers finished at 41.7 percent (25-of-60), including 5-of-12 from long range.
SDSU (15-16), which lost five of its first six conference games this season, and Denver (16-13) both finished 8-8 in league play.
The fourth-seeded Jackrabbits and fifth-seeded Pioneers face off in a Summit League Men’s Basketball Championship quarterfinal on Sunday at 6 p.m. at the PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls.
Notes: Daum has 1,291 career points. He’s averaging 24.9 points per game this season and 19.9 for his career.
