In what is becoming a theme, the SDSU men defeated a Summit League opponent by first half knockout, pounding UMKC 85-58, on Saturday night.

Five SDSU players reached double-digits and after the Jackrabbits built a 22-point halftime lead, the Jackrabbits opened the second half on a 15-0 run and ended any hopes for a ‘Roos rally. UMKC (7-13, 1-7 Summit) coach Matt Brown said his team’s failure to make layups in the first half cost them an opportunity to stay in the game.

“We missed 10 layups in the first half. When you can’t make layups, that will take the wind out of your sails,” Brown said.

“My biggest concern was that we would be flat and you could just feel it in the building. Even watching the women’s game, you could see that there wasn’t a lot of energy. They missed layups and we were fortunate there,” SDSU coach Scott Nagy said.

Taevaunn Prince led SDSU (15-5, 7-1 Summit) with 16 points, Nate Wolters and Jordan Dykstra each scored 15 points for the Jacks, with Chad White and Griffan Callahan scoring 13 and 11 points respectively.

“We’re shooting the ball right now. and we’re playing better defense and I think [our defense] is leading to [shooting the ball well],” Wolters said.

The strong play carried across the board, with SDSU finishing plus-18 in rebounding margin and converting 19 of 23 free throw tries.

“There’s ups and downs during the season and we just came off a weekend where we didn’t play a weekend,” said Nagy, who coached the game barefoot to raise awareness for Samaritan’s Feet, which helps gather shoes for those in need across the world.

The Jackrabbits will now head to Fargo next Saturday and play NDSU, which will be important for the conference championship race.

“At Fargo, it wasn’t good at all last year, so we know that we can’t repeat that,” Wolters said. The Bison have won the last 10 meetings, with the Jackrabbits last win coming in 2006.

They may have moved to Division I, but the Coyotes still are not in the Jackrabbits’ league.

SDSU rolled up seven three-pointers in the first half and nine for the game, blowing out USD, 86-56, in front of 6,216 fans at a sold out Frost Arena.

SDSU's Griffan Callahan drives to the basket in the first half of SDSU's 86-56 win over USD on Jan. 12. / Collegian Photo by Aaron Stoneberger.

Senior Griffan Callahan led SDSU (14-5, 6-1 Summit) with 20 points, powered by five three-pointers in the first meeting between the Jacks and ‘Yotes (6-10, 1-6 Summit) since 2004. The Jackrabbits built a 13-4 lead in the first four-and-a-half minutes, and with everything going right for SDSU early, it set the theme for the night.

“It was definitely a big factor in the game,” Callahan said. “The fans were a big help, and we knew we wanted to get a jump on them. And we knew that if we did, we would be good.”

A boisterous and mostly respectful crowd kept it loud for much of the game until the Jackrabbits had it in hand. SDSU constructed a 30-point lead just before halftime with 50 points before the buzzer went off, a new high-water mark for the Jacks at home since moving to Division I.

“It was kind of anti-climatic,” SDSU coach Scott Nagy said. “Our goal was to have a lot of energy defensively and be good defensively because if you want to win conference championships, you can’t play the way we did at Oral Roberts.”

Emotions were completely opposite on the Coyotes’ side.

“We didn’t guard,” USD coach Dave Boots said. “We had no ability to guard them in the first half. They are good and they had a lot to do with the way that they played but we didn’t guard them very well.”

Boots called his team the “worst shooting team we’ve had.” USD could not generate nearly enough offense to hang with the Jacks, shooting 24 percent in the first 20 minutes. The Coyotes made seven field goals in the first half — SDSU made seven three-pointers in the same span.

“They got ahead quickly and give them all of the credit, they shot the ball really well,” said USD guard Louie Krogman.

A White River, S.D. native, Krogman found himself the subject of many of the chants from the SDSU students.

“It was all in fun,” Krogman said. “They don’t really mean what they say, and it doesn’t really get me fired up or knock me off my game.”

Nate Wolters scored 13 points for the Jacks and Tony Fiegen scored 10. Krogman led USD with 15 points and Trevor Gruis had 14 for the Coyotes.

In the first sellout for the men since moving to Division I, both sides agreed that it was important to keep perspective.

“It’s good for South Dakota basketball to get this game back,” Boots said. “But we have to compete with them for it to be a rivalry. They’ve been through the transition and it shows.”

“For us, the reason the game was important because we want to win a conference championship, and you have to win the home games,” Nagy said. “At this level, now if we get a win I’m happy with it and feel thankful.”

With that in mind, put the blinders are back on for Nagy, who will take little time to celebrate their state pride triumph with UMKC waiting in the wings on Saturday.

“We have a game to play Saturday and it’s just as important,” he said.

The SDSU student section celebrates a second half basket in the Jackrabbits' 86-56 win over the Coyotes at Frost Arena. / Collegian Photo by Aaron Stoneberger.

The Jacks and North Dakota met for the first time since 2004 Saturday night, and after tonight they won’t be trading Christmas cards.

The Jackrabbits pounded their border rival, scoring the first 15 points of the contest to propel the Jacks to their largest victory ever in the 183 meetings between the two squads, a 92-54 win in front of 4,104 fans at Frost Arena.

SDSU never trailed but the Fighting Sioux rallied back to close the gap to four at 19-15 midway through the first half. SDSU would go on a 20-6 run to end the first half and build an 18-point lead at halftime.

“It’s really important and takes a lot of pressure of off Nate [Wolters]. The key to that tonight was that we won big on the glass and that’s huge against a team like that,” SDSU forward Tony Fiegen said of the Jackrabbits rebounding performance. The Jacks edged out UND on the glass, 45-21.

SDSU’s shooters got hot in the second half, hitting seven three pointers from the field and shooting nearly 57 percent for the game. The performance was not just historically significant in the series for coach Scott Nagy.

“This was first game where we were good offensively and defensively at the same time,”  Nagy said. “We were better offensively because we passed the ball and we were cutting more because we weren’t ball screening for Nate [Wolters]. We were able to move the ball well and open up those threes in the second half.”

SDSU (8-3) used balance to run away from the Fighting Sioux at home, with six players scoring in double-digits. Wolters, who tweaked what appeared to be an ankle in the first half, stayed in the game for a game-high 16 points.

The Jacks found their way to the 92-point mark for the second game in a row and scored more than 90 points for the third time this season. UND (4-5) was held to their lowest-scoring outing of the season.

SDSU returned home Tuesday night to play at home for the first time in 24 days but it took a while for the home cooking to take effect.

The Jackrabbits fed off a 11-0 run to end the first half to pull away to 92-64 victory over Division II opponent Southwest Minnesota State at Frost Arena.

SDSU guard Taévaunn Prince races down court during the Jacks’ 92-64 win over SMSU. - Collegian Photo by Aaron Stoneberger

SMSU proved to be a worthy adversary for most of first half, taking advantage of the Jackrabbits poor on-ball defensive effort. But after being tied 30-30 with just over three minutes left, SDSU rattled off 11 points in a row for a 41-30 halftime lead. That roll continued with the Jacks recording 22 of the first 24 points in the second half and the Jackrabbits were able to cruise from there.

“The start of it was my fault because we were soft. We weren’t playing man-to-man that we are capable of,” head coach Scott Nagy said.

The Mustangs were hurt the most by an eight minute scoring dry spell from the field, starting with 3:49 left in the first half and ending at the 16:33 point in the second half. By then, SMSU found themselves too far behind to make up the ground needed to catch the Jacks.

The toll of eight consecutive road games that the Jacks had over the past three weeks, spanning back to their Nov. 14 trip to Minnesota, showed its wear according to Nagy.

“Emotionally and physically, we’re tired. We’re trying to jam all of these games in here and it was just not an easy game emotionally but our guys did a job of pulling their way back around and getting back in it,” Nagy said.

The lead stretched quickly, with the Jackrabbits leading by a cool 30 points with 12:08 left in the contest. Much of that was accomplished with the help of the bench, which for the second straight contest reached the 40-point plateau. In all, SDSU played 10 players and each one had at least three points.

“We’re not on the road, traveling from hotel room to hotel room. Sleeping in your own bed is the best part about it,” said Jordan Dykstra, who made his first start of the season and says that his foot is feeling better.

Freshman Taévaunn Prince led four double-figure scorers for the Jacks, finishing the game with a career-high 16 points, Nate Wolters had 14 and Tony Fiegen scored 11 points. Zach Monaghan provided a boost for the Jackrabbits, contributing 10 points in 14 minutes of playing time.

As many SDSU students learned this Thanksgiving weekend, it’s nice to be home. The Jackrabbits men’s basketball team learned that too, in a much more difficult manner.

Griffan Callahan goes up and around a Western Michigan defender in SDSU's 82-76 win on Nov. 12. Callahan had 25 points, including seven three pointers, in the loss to Nebraska on Nov. 26. (Collegian photo by Aaron Stoneberger)

In the sixth game of their eight-game road trip, the Jacks (4-3) ran out of gas on the road against Nebraska, losing 76-64 in Lincoln and leaving SDSU 0-3 this season so far against power conference clubs. They have a chance to claim a win against a power conference team at Washington on Dec. 18.

“I told the players this game is my fault,” Jacks head coach Scott Nagy said. “This is just because I am the one that gives the final OK on the schedule. It’s too much. Not only did we have the road trip before this, but on this one, we’ve been on the road for six days and it shows.”

Like the games at Minnesota and Georgia, the Jacks stayed close during much of the first half. Nebraska (4-1) surged ahead with an 11-4 run and led by 10 at halftime.

The NU lead swelled to 12 points in the second half while the Jacks played just nie players. Regular contributors like Jordan Dykstra sat out with injuries. SDSU made a rally in the middle of the second half with a Griffan Callahan three-pointer, one of a career-high seven that he hit in the game, pulling the Jackrabbits within five points with just under 10 minutes left. But Nebraska would deliver the dagger with a Jorge Brian Diaz dunk with five minutes to go, putting NU’s lead back into double-digits and snuffing the Jacks’ upset hopes.

“The way South Dakota State plays, they’re just not going to make you look good. Statistically if you look at what we did, I think we did a really nice job,” Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said.

Beyond Callahan’s career-high 25 points, SDSU didn’t give their lone senior much help from the field. Nate Wolters came through with a usual stat line of 19 points and 8 assists, but the Huskers hounded him to the tune of 3 of 14 shooting from the floor and the Jacks only shot 34 percent all game.

The Jackrabbits returned to Brookings for a few days before hitting the road once more and starting the Summit League schedule with IUPUI on Thursday and Western Illinois on Saturday.

“It will be nice to be home and get a couple days to gain some normalcy and then we turn around and go right back on the road again,” Nagy said. “And we need practice. We haven’t had a chance to practice for six days. We need to practice on our offense.”

It will be built; we’ll see if they come.

On Nov. 9, Sioux Falls citizens voted to approve building a new events center. The effect of that decision will have a long standing influence on what happens with SDSU and the Summit League.

A $115 million, 12,000-seat arena will be adjacent to the current Sioux Falls Arena and Convention Center site in Sioux Falls. Expected to open in 2014, the new events center will replace the duties of the 50-year arena that has been showing signs of wear for quite some time.

The Sioux Falls Arena has hosted the Summit League Basketball Championships for the last three seasons and will continue to do so through 2014, when the contract is up but Sioux Falls’ chances to extend the tenure will be improved with a new building.

“I am thrilled about the new arena coming to Sioux Falls.  The upgraded facility will have a very positive impact on our student-athletes as they compete in our Tournament, in addition our fans will enjoy it as well,” Summit League Commissioner Tom Douple wrote in an email.

“I believe Sioux Falls will now be in a position to seek a first round NCAA tournament bid in Women’s Basketball and also many other events.  I will be working closely with the Sioux Falls Sports Commission to help submit bids for those events in the new arena,” Douple said.

The successful vote has many in the area happy about the prospects for the new arena, including some of SDSU’s athletic representatives.

Construction on the new building is scheduled to begin in August 2012 and will be paid for with the sale of bonds and existing sales tax revenue.

“I think from an SDSU perspective I think it’s great,” SDSU women’s basketball coach Aaron Johnston said. “It’s a chance for us to potentially play games down there. Obviously, if a Summit League Tournament can be there in the future, that would be a great venue for it. I think that it is wonderful and long-awaited.”

“I think it is a very positive development for the state of South Dakota. How it impacts us is certainly with the Summit League Basketball Tournament, having a venue like the Events Center is planned to be, would be a big deal for the league, hopefully to give us a good opportunity to have Sioux Falls to remain competitive in the bidding process. Having a new arena certainly won’t hurt,” Jackrabbits athletic director Justin Sell said.

Sioux Falls was challenged by Tulsa, Okla., in June when the tournament bid was awarded to South Dakota’s biggest city for 2013 and 2014. With Oral Roberts now leaving the Summit League for the Southland Conference, Tulsa no longer appears to be a viable option to host the four-day event. Other location options include Omaha, suburban Detroit and Fort Wayne, Ind., but Sioux Falls has set new attendance records and brought in big advertising dollars for the conference since moving the tournament there in 2009.

Sell said the university has been approached by both Sioux Falls and Rapid City groups about moving SDSU home games but the conversations have not turned serious. Sports considered for home games somewhere else in South Dakota have included non-revenue sports like volleyball, baseball and softball.

“If we were going to do one of the bigger ones, like men’s and women’s basketball, the only time that we would look at doing it would be for holiday-type tournament or an off-time of year when our students are off campus. I don’t want to take home games away from our students. It would take a lot to take a bigger attended game out of Brookings,” Sell said, adding that the university will not move a home football game off campus.

Johnston noted that he personally has made numerous trips throughout the Upper Midwest and is happy that there will be a legitimate venue option closer to home.

“On a personal side, I also think it’s great. People will say that it’s not a part of the taxes that I pay and I understand that. I’ve driven to Minneapolis, I’ve driven to Sioux City, I’ve driven to Omaha to go to events and concerts and it’ll be fun to have a place in Sioux Falls, personally, that family and friends can go down and enjoy some of the activities,” Johnston said.

Scott Nagy tweeted at halftime searching for anyone other than guard Nate Wolters to score some points.

He got that wish, it’s just that Wolters kept scoring throughout and the Jacks came out on top in an 82-76 victory over Western Michigan at Frost Arena in which both c

Freshman guard Taévaunn Prince drives the lane Nov. 12. SDSU beat the Broncos in the season-opening win at Frost Arena. (Collegian photo by Aaron Stoneberger)

oaches received technical fouls and each team had a player score north of 30 points.

That second-half player Nagy asked for was 6-7 junior Tony Fiegen, who posted a career-high 16 points. Fourteen of them came in the second half.

“He came up huge,” Wolters said, who finished with a double-double with 32 points and tying a career-high with 11 assists. “He had four or five jumpers down the stretch that helped us win.”

Besides Fiegen, the Jacks needed production from lesser-expected or more unproven commodities. Starters Griffan Callahan and Chad White combined to shoot 1-for-11 from the floor and became secondary options on offense. But newcomers like Zach Horstman’s seven points in just nine minutes and sophomore Brayden Carlson’s three three-pointers picked up some slack.

Wolters’ line was equally marked by Western Michigan sophomore Matt Stainbrook, a 6-9, 290-pound center who missed only two shots from the floor in a 32-point effort. His previous career-high was 18. To that end, he curiously led the Broncos with two steals.

But WMU got little else from its bench, tallying more fouls (five) than points (four). Horstman bested that production himself off the bench, and sophomore Jordan Dykstra – who visibly showed discomfort with a leg injury throughout – garnered five points and three rebounds in limited playing time.

Getting production off the bench when your starters are scuffling to beat a team predicted to win its conference region? To a team they squandered a lead to on the road last year? SDSU will take that.

“I’m really encouraged,” Nagy said. “I almost blew it with that techincal … but I think we’re a good team.”

Nagy ran out of superlatives for Wolters, who combined with Fiegen to score 10 of SDSU’s last 11 points in closing out the win, something SDSU failed to do in their matchup against WMU last year.

“We could talk about Nate all day, but there’s no need to,” Nagy said. “He’s that good.”

It’s the only time Frost Arena faithful see the Wolters-led Jacks until Dec. 8. During the home court drought, the Jacks have an eight-game road trip with games in five states.

“We want to continue to get better,” Fiegen said, who scored only two points off the bench last year against the defending MAC West champion Broncos. “We’re a really good team this year, we think we can compete.”