The Brookings Register
South Dakota State overcame a rough start on Thursday night and came away with a 72-62 victory over North Dakota State at the Sanford Health Athletic Center.
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FARGO — South Dakota State overcame a rough start on Thursday night and came away with a 72-62 victory over North Dakota State at the Sanford Health Athletic Center.
The Jacks (14-8, 6-2) trailed 15-2 four and a half minutes into the game. The Bison (16-7, 5-3) then led 21-8 with 10:18 left in the first half and that’s when the switch flipped for SDSU.
The Jacks proceeded to go on a 20-0 run and led 28-21 with five minutes to play in the half. During the run Joe Sayler scored 15 points. Jaden Jackson started the run with a 3-pointer and Sayler said that shot lifted the lid off the basket and the Jacks locked in after that.
“That was a great shot by [Jackson] and it really got us going. … After [that start] we bared down on defense and then on offense we took good shots, got [Oscar] Cluff involved and started hitting perimeter shots,” Sayler said.
SDSU head coach Eric Henderson said he was proud of the way his team fought back after the tough start.
“I know that [the start] wasn’t in the game plan, but boy I loved our resiliency. We didn’t have any panic. You should’ve been in those huddles. We didn’t have the urgency we needed right away, but our guys hung in there. We knew we needed to play a little bit harder, but let’s just stay with the plan here, get the ball inside a little bit more. … Let’s just stay the course and see if we can keep the ball out of the paint [on defense] as much as possible, and then Joe Sayler had a decent little stretch too, so that kind of helped,” Henderson said.
The Bison fought back after the 20-0 run and cut the SDSU lead to 32-31 at halftime. However, the Jacks got off to a fast start in the second half as they opened the half with a 14-3 run and led 46-34 with 16:34 left in the game.
The rest of the game every time the Bison would inch close the Jacks would pull away again. NDSU cut the lead to 50-46 with 13:15 to play and the Jacks scored eight straight to make it a 12-point game with 10 minutes to go. The Bison made it 63-57 with 4:45 left and SDSU scored four straight to make it a 10-point lead with four minutes to play. Owen Larson then made a lay up and hit a three to put the game out of reach with 1:22 to go.
Larson finished with 10 points and eight of them came in the second half. Henderson said Larson doesn’t play or lead like a freshman.
“He has a great amount of confidence and it’s thought of the same as him by his coach too because I have a great amount of confidence in him too. He loves the moment. He plays very tough and very under control. He’s done such a better job of taking care of the basketball and making sure we get a shot every time. I’m very proud of how he’s come in and even more than his play, his leadership skills and how his pulse has infiltrated the team,” Henderson said.
Oscar Cluff had 23 points and 15 rebounds. It was just another game for the 6-foot-11 center out of Australia as he averages 17.4 points and 12.4 rebounds. Henderson was complimentary of the way Cluff was efficient, shooting 10-of-14 from the floor, and the way he played defensively.
“It’s incredible how efficient he is and we talk about him a lot, rightfully so. He’s a warrior in there and we had to get him out of comfort zone a bit defensively to guard on the perimeter,” Henderson said.
SDSU shot 48.3% from the field and was 9-of-29 from three. Sayler finished with 19 points. Kalen Garry had 12 points and five rebounds.
NDSU shot 37.7% from the field and was 7-of-30 from three. Jackson Moni, who leads the Summit League in scoring, was at his average with 19 points. He also had eight rebounds but was 7-of-20 from the field. Tajavis Miller had 14 points and seven rebounds and Masen Miller had 10 points and six rebounds.
With the win the Jacks moved just a game behind St. Thomas and Omaha for first place in the Summit League. SDSU will welcome the Tommies, Mavericks and Bison to Brookings in February. Henderson said he isn’t focused on the standings but is happy with how his team has grown since the start of conference play as they’ve won five straight games.
“We just want to continue to get better. I’m very proud of the progress the guys have made and I want to make sure they understand that. I’m very proud of them. But we need to continue to stay stubborn and continue to get better, and hopefully this thing is just getting started,” Henderson said.