South Dakota State men’s basketball dropped a heartbreaker Thursday night against Omaha, as a last-second bucket snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Jackrabbits in an 85-84 setback.
SDSU (20-7, 10-2 Summit League) shot 46 percent as a team and hit 17-of-34 from deep, but could not slow a Maverick squad that overcame a double-digit halftime deficit to defend their home court.
David Jenkins tied a school record with 10 3-pointers in the contest, finishing with 34 points on the night to lead the Jackrabbits.
Mike Daum added 29 points and 12 rebounds in his 17th double-double of the season, hitting 8-of-9 at the free throw line.
Skyler Flatten rounded out the top scorers with 10 points while matching Alex Arians for the team-lead in assists (four).
Omaha (15-9, 9-2 Summit League) was led by Mitch Hahn, who scored 22 and hit the game’s final shot.
A trio of Jenkins 3-pointers helped State take control early, and with 9:02 on the clock the Jackrabbits pushed their lead into double figures for the first time on the night. Omaha answered to draw within four moments later, but SDSU worked its way out of a cold spell and grew its lead back to double-digits at the half.
Ahead 43-30 at the break, the Jackrabbits opened the second half with Jenkins’ fourth 3-pointer of the night, but were forced to deal with a pesky Maverick squad that roared back to take a 51-49 lead before the 14-minute mark thanks to a burst of 18 unanswered.
SDSU stopped the Omaha run with back-to-back Jenkins 3-pointers, setting the stage for a back-and-forth race to the finish between the top teams in the Summit League.
The Jacks trailed by as many as six down the stretch, but answered the Mavericks’ punches with a late rally, taking an 84-83 lead with 5.7 seconds left after a pair of Daum free throw.
With time winding down, though, Omaha’s Mitch Hann sank a baseline floater with 0.2 seconds on the clock to squash SDSU’s comeback hopes.
Game Notes
- South Dakota State is 58-34 all-time against Omaha.
- Mike Daum entered today’s game 14th on the NCAA’s scoring list with 2,883 career points. He is now 13th on the list with 2,912 career points, passing Elvin Hayes (Houston; 2,884) and drawing within one of Alfredrick Hughes (Loyola [Ill.]; 2,914).
- David Jenkins is now tied for 37th on SDSU’s all-time scoring list with 1,073 career points, even with Gene Zulk (1966-69).
- Jenkins’ 10 3-pointers tied Mike Daum’s mark for the most treys in a single game at SDSU.
Up Next
South Dakota State wraps up its final road trip of the 2018-19 regular season with a Saturday bout at North Dakota State. The Jackrabbits and Bison tip at 4 p.m. from Fargo, North Dakota in the second game of a doubleheader at the Scheels Center.
-GoJacks.com-
Courtesy: SDSU