Drue Aman
Sports Editor
Who needs defense?
Neither SDSU or Southern Utah, apparently. Nate Wolters, Clint Sargent, and Jordan Dykstra did something no other Jacks triumvirate has done in seven seasons in a 96-79 win in the annual Pork Classic.
That win doesn’t come with a defensive exclamation point, but the Jacks forced 20 turnovers and turned out a season-high 12 steals in addition to the offensive superlatives from Wolters, Sargent and Dykstra. Their performances come off the heels of a disappointing effort against UMKC, showing again that the Jacks can rebound from losses well.
“I’m kind of tired of it,” said Sargent, who now sits four three-pointers away from breaking the career school record. “I’m happy with how we play when we bounce back, but we need that energy more consistently to win games, especially on the defensive side.”
The offense started early. Actually, it started on New Years Day, when SDSU beat the Thunderbirds on the road, 105-95. An offensive circus seemed preordained, with any defense purely an added bonus.
That bonus, though offensive, was Wolters, Sargent and Dykstra. The three were the first trio to score 20+ points apiece in a game since Jan. 10, 2004. Sargent’s 22 points helped pace the Jacks to 97 points, their second highest scoring output of the year, only lower than the 105-point output in Cedar City, Utah.
“It would have been nice to have a few of those shots in the UMKC game,” said Jacks head coach Scott Nagy, “but when we shoot it, we’re pretty good.”
When they shoot it and win, they win big. All but one of SDSU’s 14 victories have been by double-digits. The most recent wins, IPFW and a season-sweeping win of the Thunderbirds, were 35 and 17 points, respectively.
Winning big hasn’t been a problem against Southern Utah in particular. The Jacks have won five straight against the Thunderbirds, and four of those wins by double-digits.
“When we shoot it, it opens up the floor for Nate,” said Nagy of a recipe for winning games convincingly. “It’s nice that we’re having some of these wins, but we need to win close ones.”
Coming off the bench for the fourth straight game was Dykstra His 20 points came on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range. Since switching roles with Tony Fiegen, the freshman has averaged 13 points and six rebounds per game off the bench.
“On any given night, it could be any of us,” said the Rock Valley, Iowa native Dykstra. “We have great players on this team. We’ve been saying all year that we don’t have a problem scoring points, it’s playing defense. Once we get that done, we’ll be alright.”
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