SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The wins are starting to pile up for Summit League squads and Denver's 83-81 victory at Colorado State was one of the most impressive so far in the early going. The Pioneers won for just the second time at their in-state rival since 2013 and got big production from Zane Nelson off the bench after he finished with a season-high 22 points in the win over the Rams.
St. Thomas added two wins to its total and claimed the Portland Invitational title thanks to a buzzer-beating victory over Northern Colorado and title-clinching triumph over host Portland. Preseason Player of the Year Nolan Minessale was named Tournament MVP en route to his second straight Kwik Star Peak Performer of the Week nod.
South Dakota State and North Dakota State are also both hovering above .500 early in the campaign. The Jackrabbits dismantled visiting Georgia State last week by 47, while the Bison pushed their winning streak to four as they prep for a multi-team event at Arkansas State.
Omaha and Oral Roberts are also amid multi-team events during the holiday week, while North Dakota will travel across the Pacific Ocean to take on Hawai'i Friday.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
• South Dakota nearly let a 20-point halftime lead slip away but Jordan Crawford’s layup in the closing minute lifted the Coyotes to an 82-81 victory over South Carolina State Sunday.
• Crawford led all scorers with a career-high 25 points and also led USD in scoring with 18 points in a loss at Mizzou.
• South Dakota State posted its largest victory over a Division I opponent since 2018, blasting Georgia State 105-58 this past Friday in a home game that was part of the Cancun Challenge.
• Senior Matthew Mors led five Jacks in double figures with a season-high 18 points as the Jacks shot 61 percent from the field.
• Redshirt freshman Trey Buchanan went 5-for-6 from three-point range to give him five triples in back-to-back games.
• The Jacks made their way to the tropics for a pair of games, falling in the opener to Utah Valley 75-52. Mors had 10 points and three blocks vs. the Wolverines.
• Denver held off hard-charging Colorado State to stun the Rams 83-81, marking the first win for the program in Fort Collins since 2013. The victory also secured Field of 68 Mid-Major Team of the Week honors for the Pioneers.
• Zane Nelson scored a season-high 22 points off the bench to pace DU, while Carson Johnson added 18.
• Johnson tallied a team-high 18 for DU in a 103-73 loss at (2/3) Arizona Monday. Nelson added 17, giving 39 over his past two games after netting just 18 total points in the Pioneers’ first four games.
• Oral Roberts split its first two games of the Coconut Hoops Showcase. After falling to host FGCU, the Golden Eagles bounced back with a 91-83 win over a Kennesaw State team ranked No. 22 in the latest Collegeinside.rcom Mid-Major Top 25.
• Ty Harper has back-to-back 20-point outings in the Sunshine State, going for 20 against the Eagles and a season-high 22 in the win over the Owls. The grad transfer has four 20-plus games and leads the Golden Eagles with a 16.0 ppg average in his first season at ORU.
• North Dakota State rattled off its fourth straight win, defeating Jamestown 82-67 behind a pair of 20-plus point scorers in Markhi Strickland (22) and Noah Feddersen (20).
• Kansas City’s CJ Evans led the Roos with 19 points in an 80-67 loss at Lindenwood. He also added five assists for the third time in a game this season.
• Karmello Branch matched his season-high with 18 in the Roos’ clash with TCU. He has connected on four three-pointers in a game three different times.
• Lance Waddles put together one of the best stats of the early season by any Summit League player, going for 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in an 88-77 loss to James Madison in Omaha’s opening game at the FIU multi-team event.
• Waddles is the only Summit hooper with two double-doubles on the season.
• North Dakota split a pair of games at the Western Illinois multi-team event, falling to Coastal Carolina by 17 before bounching back to the beat the host Leathernecks 78-69.
• Garrett Anderson put together his best scoring game as a Fighting Hawk, scoring a game-high 21 points to lead UND for the first time in that category since the opener at Alabama.
• Freshman Marley Curtis had a career-high 10 rebounds against the Chanticleers to post the first double-digit rebounding game for the Fighting Hawks this season.
•St. Thomas sophomore Nolan Minessale earned MVP honors after leading the Tommies to a team title at the Portland Invitational. He eclipsed 20-plus points in all three games to push his season-opening streak to eight games.
• Minessale hit 20 on the dot when his half-court heave banked in to beat Northern Colorado 73-72 in the opener. He had a season-high 26 in the middle game vs. Cal-State Fullerton and capped the tournament with 24 in a win over the host Pilots.
UPCOMING
Game | Stream/TV | Local Time
Game | Stream/TV | Local Time
Wednesday, Nov. 26
Omaha at FIU | ESPN+ | 2 p.m.
Denver at Wyoming | MWN | 6:30 p.m.
NDSU vs. Jacksonville State | 2 p.m.
(ASU Thanksgiving MTE; Jonesboro, Ark.)
Oral Roberts vs. Rice | FLO | 4:30 p.m.
(Coconut Hoops; Fort Myers, Fla.)
SDSU vs. UC Irvine | FLO | 8:30 p.m.
(Cancun Challenge; Cancun, Mexico)
Friday, Nov. 28
NDSU at Arkansas State | ESPN+ | 2 p.m.
(ASU Thanksgiving MTE; Jonesboro, Ark.)
North Dakota at Hawai’i | ESPN+ | 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 29
South Dakota vs. Air Force | SLN | 2 p.m.
(Rapid City, S.D.)
Kansas City at Weber State | ESPN+ | 2 p.m.
Mid-America Christian at Omaha | SLN | 7 p.m.
Lawrence at St. Thomas | SLN | 7 p.m.
Key: ACCNX (ACC Network Xtra), BTN (Big Ten Network), CBSSN (CBS Sports Network), ESPN+ (ESPN Plus), F68 (Field of 68 YouTube), FLO (FloSports), FOX9+ (Fox 9 Minneapolis), MS (MidcoSports), MWN (Mountain West Network), PC (Peacock), SECN+ (SEC Network Plus), SLN (Summit League Network)
Polls: AP/Coaches
RESULTS
Wednesday, Nov. 19
Omaha 96, Concordia (Neb.) 80
Creighton 75, North Dakota 60
NDSU 82, Jamestown 67
TCU 81, Kansas City 45
Thursday, Nov. 20
Oklahoma 95, Oral Roberts 71
(RV/RV) Missouri 102, South Dakota 68
Friday, Nov. 21
LSU 99, Omaha 73
St. Thomas 73, Northern Colorado 72
(Portland Invitational; Portland, Ore.)
Denver 83, Colorado State 81
SDSU 105, Georgia State 58
(Cancun Challenge; Brookings, S.D.)
Saturday, Nov. 22
Cal State Fullerton 88, St. Thomas 80
(Portland Invitational; Portland, Ore.)
Coastal Carolina 75, North Dakota 58
(WIU MTE; Macomb, Ill.)
Sunday, Nov. 23
South Dakota 83, South Carolina State 82
St. Thomas 76, Portland 66
(Portland Invitational; Portland, Ore.)
North Dakota 78, Western Illinois 69
(WIU MTE; Macomb, Ill.)
Monday, Nov. 24
Lindenwood 80, Kansas City 67
FGCU 93, Oral Roberts 88
(Coconut Hoops; Fort Myers, Fla.)
(2/3) Arizona 103, Denver 73
Tuesday, Nov. 25
James Madison 88, Omaha 77
(FIU MTE; Miami, Fla.)
Oral Roberts 91, Kennesaw State 83
(Coconut Hoops; Fort Myers, Fla.)
Utah Valley 77, SDSU 52
(Cancun Challenge; Cancun, Mexico)
#SUMMITMBB
