LOS ANGELES, CA (KELO.com) — The Jackrabbit men’s basketball program saw its three-game winning streak come to an end Tuesday night at Southern California, falling 84-66 at the Galen Center.South Dakota State (3-1) staged a number of rallies throughout the contest, but ultimately saw a hard fought battle with 40 combined fouls lean towards the Trojans (3-0).
Douglas Wilson led the Jackrabbit scoring attack with 15 points, while David Wingett reached double figures as well, tallying 10 points with a pair of 3-pointers.
Baylor Scheierman pulled down a team-best seven rebounds, adding nine points and two assists.Brandon Key (eight points) and Matt Dentlinger (seven points) each had four rebounds and led the team with three assists.
Slow-going early on, the Jacks held a 4-3 advantage at the under-16 media break. Moments later, however, South Dakota State saw USC break out on a 7-0 run while building towards a 26-10 lead with under seven to play in the half.
A Dentlinger layup at 6:21, though, started a long climb back for the Jacks as they cut the lead to single-digits, 38-31 at halftime. All told, SDSU outscored the Trojans 21-12 over the final six-plus minutes of the opening frame.
State kept the momentum out of the locker room and cut it to one (40-39) with a Noah Freidel 3-pointer at 18:11, then again had it within one (45-44) after a Key trey at 15:31. The Trojans scored the next 11 go grow their lead back to double figures (56-44), but the Jacks continued to fight and drew back within three, 59-56, after Scheierman followed his own 3-pointer with a layup.SDSU could draw no closer, however, as USC used a flurry of free throws down the stretch to hold off a further charge and escape with the home win.
Game Notes
- South Dakota State is 0-1 all-time against Southern California.
- Douglas Wilson reached double figures for the fourth-straight game.
Up Next
South Dakota State heads for Lincoln, Nebraska Friday to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Tip is set for 8 p.m. from Pinnacle Bank Arena.
