Inertia

Men's Basketball

No. 1 South Dakota State powers past No. 8 Oral Roberts with massive first-half run

The Basics
Score: No. 1 South Dakota State 79, No. 8 Oral Roberts 63
Records: South Dakota State (20-12, 12-4 SL), Oral Roberts (12-19, 5-11 SL)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D

 

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 1 South Dakota State sprinted past No. 8 Oral Roberts 79-63 to earn a spot in the Summit League Men's Basketball Tournament semifinals for the fourth straight season. 
 
Five Jackrabbits scored in double digits, including William Kyle III, who had 16 points, nine rebounds and a trio of emphatic dunks. Luke Appel was the team’s leading scorer with 18 points.
 
It was a game of runs early. 
 
The Golden Eagles exploded out of the gate, riding a 13-2 run to take a 10-point lead with just over six minutes gone. The Jackrabbits then responded in a big way. SDSU ripped off a 24-0 run, holding ORU scoreless for the final 10:21 of the first half to flip the game. 
 
“Extremely proud of how our guys bounced back from a tough start and obviously had a great finish to the first half,” said SDSU head coach Eric Henderson.
 
The run included two highlight reel dunks from Kyle III, and was capped off by a Nate Barnhart three pointer to send the Jackrabbits into the locker room with a 17-point lead. Defensively, Charlie Easley, Matt Mims and Zeke Mayo frustrated ORU’s talented guards to cool off the Golden Eagles’ hot start. 
 
ORU did respond in the second half, using a more balanced offensive approach to draw within as few as six points on a Kareem Thompson layup with 10:07 left. The Golden Eagles came out of the break shooting 4-for-7 to get back into the game.
 
“One thing that has been consistent is that they never quit,” said ORU head coach Russell Springmann. 
 
With ORU’s momentum building, SDSU freshman Kalen Garry grabbed an offensive rebound on his own miss, got fouled and converted an and-one to stretch the lead to 57-46 with just under nine minutes remaining. The Golden Eagles would never really threaten after that. 
 
Isaac McBride led the way with 20 points for ORU.
 
SDSU moves on to play the winner of No. 4 St. Thomas and No. 5 North Dakota State in Monday’s first semifinal at 6 p.m. CT.
 
Turning Point 
You could take your pick of highlights from the 24-0 run, which included two of Kyle III’s thunderous dunks. Garry’s and-one late in the second half also extinguished the Golden Eagles comeback effort out of the break. But it was the perimeter defense of the Jackrabbit guards that helped cool off what threatened to be a potent ORU offensive effort from the opening tip. 
 
Inside the Box Score
  • Powered by Kyle III and Appel, the Jackrabbits held a 36-18 advantage in points in the paint. 
  • Thompson played 39 minutes and scored 15 points in the final game of a storied Summit League career. 
  • Zeke Mayo scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half, with many of those coming during SDSU’s massive run. 
  • By shooting 55 percent from the field, the Jackrabbits notched their fourth-best shooting night against Summit League opposition this season.
News & Notes 
  • The Golden Eagles have won at least one game in the past five Summit League Tournaments.
  • The win gives SDSU its sixth season with 20 or more wins over the past 10 years.
  • Saturday’s game marked the third meeting between the two schools in the quarterfinals, with SDSU winning the previous two (72-69 in overtime in 2009 and 73-70 in 2016).
  • ORU won the last tournament meeting, 90-88 in the 2021 semifinals played at the Pentagon. 
  • Both teams led by at least 10 points during the first half. 
  • The teams combined for just 15 turnovers (7 by SDSU, 8 by ORU) 
  • SDSU closed the first half on a 24-0 (30-5) run to lead 38-21 at half. This came after the Jackrabbits trailed 16-6. 
  • The loss snaps the Golden Eagles’ streak of four consecutive semifinal appearances.
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