BROOKINGS – It was a weekend of returns for the South Dakota State men’s basketball team in its first two Summit League games against Western Illinois.
Douglas Wilson returned from injury Friday and scored 22 points in a 83-77 Jackrabbit victory. Noah Freidel then returned from suspension Saturday and scored 25 points in a 92-63 SDSU win.
Friday
• South Dakota State 83, Western Illinois 77
The Jacks fell behind 7-0 three minutes into the game. They would fight back and take a 21-20 lead with 7:17 left in the first half. SDSU went on a 20-8 run to end the half and led 41-28 at halftime.
SDSU’s lead grew to as many 22 with 17:16 left in the game. The Jacks then took their foot off the pedal which resulted in the final score being 83-77.
Wilson, who missed the previous four games due to injury, led SDSU with 22 points and four rebounds. Baylor Scheierman had 16 points and nine rebounds. Luke Appel had 16 points and five rebounds. Alex Arians had 10 points and Matt Dentlinger had eight.
The Jacks shot 50% from the field and were 5-for-15 from three. They were 18-27 from the free throw line.
Adam Anhold led the Leathernecks with 16 points and nine rebounds. Justin Brookens had 12 points and Ramean Hinton had 13. Will Carius finished with 10 points. WIU shot 46.9% from the field and were 7-for-19 from three. They outrebounded SDSU 40-32.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 83, WESTERN ILLINOIS 77
Western Illinois (2-8, 0-3)
Adam Anhold 6-11 4-4 16, Ramean Hinton 5-9 0-0 13, Justin Brookens 5-8 2-2 12, Will Carius 3-7 2-2 10, Rod Johnson 4-10 0-0 9, Tamell Pearson 3-8 2-2 8, Camron Burrell 3-4 0-0 6, Colton Sandage 1-4 0-2 3, Erik Talton 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 30-64 10-12 77.
South Dakota State (7-3, 1-0)
Douglas Wilson 9-14 4-9 22, Baylor Scheierman 4-9 5-6 16, Luke Appel 8-10 0-2 16, Alex Arians 2-7 6-6 10, Matt Dentlinger 4-9 0-0 8, Charlie Easley 2-8 1-2 6, David Wingett 1-3 2-2 5. Totals 30-60 18-27 83.
WIU 28 49 – 77
SDSU 41 42 – 83
3-point field goals – WIU 7-19 (Hinton 3-5, Carius 2-5, Johnson 1-3, Sandage 1-3, Pearson 0-1, Talton 0-1, Anhold 0-1), SDSU 5-15 (Scheierman 3-6, Easley 1-3, Wingett 1-3, Arians 0-3). Rebounds – WIU 40 (Johnson 9), SDSU 32 (Scheierman 9). Assists – WIU 11 (Brookens 3), SDSU 14 (Scheierman 4). Steals – WIU 5 (Pearson, Hinton 2), SDSU 6 (Wingett, Wilson 2). Blocks – WIU 3 (Pearson, Anhold, Sandage), SDSU 5 (Wingett, Dentlinger 2). Turnovers – WIU 15, SDSU 8. Total fouls – WIU 25, SDSU 14. Fouled out – Carius, Johnson. Technical fouls – none. A – 623.
Saturday
• South Dakota State 92, Western Illinois 63
Just like Friday, the Jacks fell behind early. WIU scored the first six points of the game and SDSU took its first lead of the game (13-12) with 13:50 left in the first half. The teams then traded baskets until SDSU went on a 5-0 run to end the first half to give them a 40-35 lead heading into halftime.
The Leathernecks hung around for the first seven minutes of the second half. SDSU led 50-45 with 12:39 left in the game and then went on a 14-0 run to stretch its lead to 19. The Jacks outscored the Leathernecks 42-18 in the final 12:39.
“It was a good second half for the Jacks. I thought we came out a little stagnant, but we talked in the locker room at the half. It was important for us to win the rebounding battle tonight. We got kicked pretty good last night, especially in the second half. So it was a big emphasis for us and when we get stops and get that ball moving up the floor pretty quick, we can score at a pretty high level. So I thought in the second half we were able to do that and secure first shot rebounds and get out and get going offensively,” SDSU head coach Eric Henderson said.
Freidel finished with 25 points and was 5-for-7 from three. He also grabbed eight rebounds. He missed the previous two games due to a suspension after he was ejected for a flagrant foul against South Dakota Dec. 12.
“It was nice to be back and play in Frost in front of some fans. Great atmosphere, so yeah it wsa fun,” Freidel said. “I made a mistake. Try to move on from it, but you know [Henderson] is a great coach. He knows what he’s doing leadership wise. He takes good care of us, so I think it was super good for me.”
Henderson added that he made the decision to lift the suspension during shootaround Saturday morning.
“… [Freidel] made a mistake, but we have to move on and he learned from his mistake and he suffered the consiquences and it’s time to move on. I’m proud of Noah and how he’s responded. I thought he used his energy in a great way tonight. He needs to continue to do that and if he does he’s going to see great things happen for himself both on and off the court,” he said.
David Wingett had 15 points. Wilson had 14 points and six rebounds. Scheierman had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Arians had 11 points and Dentlinger had nine.
The Jacks shot 53.4% from the field and were 11-for-21 from three. They held the Leathernecks to 38.2% shooting from the field and WIU was 1-for-13 from three.
This was the first of nine weekends this season that SDSU will play on back-to-back nights. Henderson said it was a learning experience for his team.
“I think because it was the first time [playing a team back-to-back nights] it was a learning experience. So you have to look at it that way. You have to stay true to yourself and be who you are. Let’s see if we can do that first. But when you’re preparing for a team, you don’t want to guard the same way. … You do something for so long and especially when the games are so close together, a team can really get comfortable with that and how you’re doing things. So we did mix it up with how we were doing some things. … I think you have to be ready to adjust and make changes and make some hard choices sometimes,” Henderson said.
This was the Jackrabbits 300th victory at the Division I level. SDSU will play at Omaha Friday and Saturday. Both games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 92, WESTERN ILLINOIS 63
Western Illinois (2-9, 0-4)
Tamell Pearson 4-7 5-7 13, Adam Anhold 2-5 7-9 11, Will Carius 2-7 5-6 9, Cameron Burrell 4-5 0-0 8, Justin Brookens 3-8 0-0 6, Rod Johnson 2-7 1-2 5, Ramean Hinton 1-7 2-2 5, Erik Talton 2-6 0-0 4, Colton Sandage 1-3 0-1 2. Totals 21-55 20-27 63.
South Dakota State (8-3, 2-0)
Noah Freidel 9-15 2-4 25, David Wingett 5-8 1-2 15, Douglas Wilson 3-7 8-11 14, Alex Arians 4-8 2-2 11, Baylor Scheierman 5-9 0-0 11, Matt Dentlinger 4-8 1-5 9, Luke Appel 1-2 5-6 7, Charlie Easley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-58 19-30 92.
WIU 35 28 – 63
SDSU 40 52 – 92
3-point field goals – WIU 1-13 (Hinton 1-2, Brookens 0-1, Anhold 0-1, Sandage 0-1, Carius 0-2, Johnson 0-3, Talton 0-3), SDSU 11-21 (Freidel 5-7, Wingett 4-6, Arians 1-2, Scheierman 1-5, Easley 0-1). Rebounds – WIU 28 (Anhold 7), SDSU 41 (Scheierman 11). Assists – WIU 8 (Anhold 4), SDSU (Arians 3). Steals – WIU 6 (Talton, Burrell 2), SDSU 5 (Easley 2). Blocks – WIU 2 (Anhold), SDSU 3 (Wingett, Dentlinger, Freidel). Turnovers – WIU 10, SDSU 10. Total fouls – WIU 25, SDSU 23. Fouled out – Appel. Technical fouls – none. A – 711.
