BROOKINGS – South Dakota State squandered a 17-point second-half lead but came through down the stretch, beating IPFW 78-76 in a Summit League matchup to conclude the Pork Classic on Saturday evening at Frost Arena.
Mike Daum scored 23 points and hit a pair of free throws with 20.6 seconds to go to put the Jackrabbits on top 77-76.
John Konchar’s 3-point attempt on the other end rimmed off and Skyler Flatten grabbed the rebound. Tevin King was fouled and made 1-of-2 foul shots with 2.5 seconds left to make it a two-point game. Konchar’s desperation heave from 65 feet hit the backboard but did not fall as time expired.
“We’re fortunate to come out of there with a win, to say the least,” said SDSU coach T.J. Otzelberger. “In the first half, we did a great job defensively – the half we needed to play from a defensive standpoint. The offense wasn’t awesome, but it was reasonable.
“In the second half, I thought that first possession was vindictive to how the entire second half felt to me. We kind of rushed, we kind of panicked offensively. They kept changing how they were guarding things – switching this screen, trapping that, going zone. They threw a lot of different looks at us and we didn’t do a great job of being patient when we needed to be offensively. That allowed them to get going in transition off our turnovers and some of our quick shots.
“So we have to do a better job as we move forward just understanding that we’re going to see different looks night in and night out, and we may not score it on the first or the second pass; but we have to do a better job scoring later in possessions.”
The Jackrabbits (18-6, 6-1), who dropped a 19-point decision at South Dakota on Wednesday, built a 43-26 lead at intermission. They were still ahead by 17 – 48-31 – with 17 1/2 minutes remaining.
The Mastodons hung around before using a 7-0 spurt – Konchar had four points and assisted on Bryson Scott’s traditional 3-point play – to pull even at 67-all.
IPFW held a one-point lead three times down the stretch, the last coming at 76-75 on a Konchar 3-pointer with 51 seconds showing on the clock. The Mastodons got a stop and Jax Levitch was fouled on the rebound with 40 seconds remaining.
However, he missed the front end of a one-and-one and Daum put the Jackrabbits on top for good on the other end.
SDSU held a 50-39 advantage on the glass but committed 14 turnovers to IPFW’s five.
Daum added 14 rebounds to complete his 12th double-double of the season.
King had a big game on both ends of the floor, notching a double-double – the first of his career – with 11 points and 10 boards.
Skyler Flatten went 4-of-7 from long range for 12 points and Reed Tellinghuisen matched that point total as both players grabbed seven rebounds. David Jenkins Jr. totaled 10 markers.
Konchar had 23 points for IPFW (14-10, 3-4). Scott scored 17 on 7-of-23 shooting. Kason Harrell contributed 12 points and Xzavier Taylor 10.
Denver beat South Dakota 84-68 in Vermillion, as SDSU moved into first place in the conference standings.
The Jackrabbits are host to Omaha on Tuesday and North Dakota State on Thursday. Both games tip off at 7 p.m.
Notes: Attendance was 3,536. … With 1,941 career points, Daum passed Mark Tetzlaff (1,931 from 1981-85) for second place at SDSU. Daum moved to 16th in Summit League scoring, passing Eastern Illinois’ Jay Taylor (1,926 from 1985-89). … Daum trails Nate Wolters (2,363 from 2009-13) by 422 points for first place on the Jackrabbits’ list. Daum has a career average of 20.87 (93 games), Wolters 18.46 (128 games) and Tetzlaff 16.36 (118 games). Tetzlaff was the school record-holder in career points for nearly 20 years. … Daum is 578 points behind the Summit League record of 2,504 held by Oral Roberts’ Caleb Green (2003-07).
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 78, IPFW 76
IPFW (14-10, 3-4 Summit)
Xzavier Taylor 4-9 1-1 10, Bryson Scott 7-23 3-3 17, Jax Levitch 1-3 1-3 4, Kason Harrell 5-8 0-0 12, John Konchar 9-22 1-2 23, Chris Rollins 3-6 0-0 7, Dylan Carl 0-2 0-0 0, Jordon King 0-0 0-0 0, Matt Weir 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 30-74 6-9 76.
South Dakota State (18-6, 6-1 Summit)
Reed Tellinghuisen 5-11 2-2 12, Mike Daum 7-20 6-6 23, Skyler Flatten 4-10 0-0 12, Tevin King 4-7 3-5 11, David Jenkins JR. 4-15 0-2 10, Brandon Key 3-3 0-1 6, Lane Severyn 0-0 0-0 0, Ian Theisen 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 28-68 13-18 78.
Halftime – SDSU led 43-26. 3-point goals – IPFW 10-29 (Konchar 4-12, Harrell 2-5, Weir 1-1, Taylor 1-2, Levitch 1-2, Rollins 1-2, Carl 0-1, Scott 0-4), SDSU 9-34 (Flatten 4-7, Daum 3-9, Jenkins 2-10, Theisen 0-1, King 0-2, Tellinghuisen 0-5). Rebounds – IPFW 39 (Levitch, Konchar 9), SDSU 50 (Daum 14, King 10). Assists – IPFW 11 (Konchar 4), SDSU 14 (King 3). Steals – IPFW 9 (Konchar 4), SDSU 3 (King 2). Blocks – IPFW 2 (Scott, Konchar 1), SDSU 3 (Tellinghuisen, King, Theisen 1). Turnovers – IPFW 5, SDSU 14. Total fouls – IPFW 13, SDSU 10. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none. A – 3,536.
SUMMIT LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL
Conf. Overall
South Dakota State 6-1 18-6
South Dakota 6-2 18-6
North Dakota State 4-3 12-10
Denver 4-4 10-12
IPFW 3-4 14-10
Oral Roberts 3-4 9-15
Omaha 2-5 7-16
Western Illinois 1-6 10-10
Tuesday
Omaha at South Dakota State, 7 p.m.
Thursday
Oral Roberts at IPFW, 6 p.m.
North Dakota State at South Dakota State, 7 p.m.
South Dakota at Western Illinois, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Denver at IPFW, 1 p.m.
South Dakota at North Dakota State, 2 p.m.
Oral Roberts at Western Illinois, 2 p.m.
