SDSU men rally late for sixth straight win

LOGAN, Utah – Forget the broad side of a barn, South Dakota State at times Friday looked incapable of hitting the Rocky Mountains. It was the Jackrabbits' worst offensive showing in nearly 3 years.

Yet they won. Ugly, pretty or in between that makes six in a row.

SDSU put together a 10-0 run late in the contest, shutting out Bakersfield for 6-plus minutes to steal a 53-49 decision at the Spectrum. With the triumph, the Jacks improved to 2-0 at the World Vision Classic heading into the final tonight against host Utah State.

They'll take in considering they could just as well be 0-2 in the event. They beat Idaho State by three in overtime Thursday.

"We're struggling offensively, and some of that just has to work itself out," coach Scott Nagy said. "But we're defending, we're rebounding – our kids are playing hard. That's all I can ask."

For the fourth outing in a row, SDSU (8-3) got it done late. The Jacks trailed by five prior to the 10-point spurt that began with five in a row from George Marshall on two long jump shots. The point guard, a transfer from Wisconsin, scored 18 points in his second game of the season.

On the back end of the spurt, forward Cody Larson converted a three-point play and guard Deondre Parks scored on the drive. Those two were a combined 2 of 17 from the field prior to that juncture.

The 6-foot-9 Larson also blocked a close-range shot during the game-turning stretch, helping SDSU come up with defensive stops on seven straight possessions.

For the night, the Jacks limited to the Roadrunners (1-10) to 34.8 from the field. They also finished plus-1 in rebound margin. While that doesn't seem decisive, it was important. SDSU has struggled in that department and Bakersfield wound up plus-20 on Thursday night in a one-point loss to Utah State.

"We're just going to keep leaning on our defense, and try to get a bigger win one of these games," Jacks forward Zach Horstman said. "This is a tough team – that shows a lot."

The senior Horstman showed some personal grit. He bounced back from a sub-par showing against Idaho State to put up 12 points. It was his second-highest output of the season. That was necessary with Larson and Parks combining for nine – 19 under their average.

Also, SDSU committed only eight turnovers, finished with a 13-2 edge in second-chance points and went 10 of 28 from beyond the arc. That wasn't enough to blow out the Roadrunners. But it was enough to gain another narrow decision.

That's the difference between the two teams heading toward Christmas. Bakersfield has lost five games by two points or less. SDSU has won four games by four points or less, including each of that last three.

"Good teams win these games," Nagy said.

Nonetheless, the level of competition ratchets up tonight. The Aggies are ranked in the top 100 of RPI. Season worsts in any number of areas probably won't be good enough.

"I think defensively we're pretty decent," Marshall said. "As soon as our offensive comes around that's when these games that shouldn't be so close won't be so close."

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (8-3)

Zach Horstman 5-9 0-0 12, Cody Larson 2-9 0-2 4, Deondre Parks 2-10 0-0 5, George Marshall 6-15 2-2 18, Jake Bittle 2-3 3-4 8, Skyler Flatten 0-0 0-0 0, Reed Tellinghuisen 2-5 0-0 6, Lane Severyn 0-2 0-0 0, Connor Devine 0-0 0-1 0, Ian Theisen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-54 5-9 53.

CAL-STATE BAKERSFIELD (1-10)

Kevin Mays 0-4 5-6 5, Aly Ahmed 7-9 1-2 15, Tyrell Corbin 1-7 0-0 3, Javonte Maynor 3-9 2-3 10, Jaylin Airington 1-4 3-4 5, Brent Wrapp 0-2 0-0 0, Cortez Conners 0-0 0-0 0, Dashawn Richmond 3-7 0-0 8, Kregg Jones 1-3 1-2 3, Abdul Ahmed 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-46 12-17 49.

Halftime - SDSU 28, CSB 24. 3-pointers - SDSU 10-28 (Marshall 4-9, Tellinghuisen 2-4, Horstman 2-5, Bittle 1-1, parks 1-7,, Severyn 0-2), CSB 5-17 (Richmond 2-4, Maynor 2-7, Corbin 1-3, Airington 0-1, Wrapp 0-1, Abdul Ahmed 0-1). Total fouls - SDSU 21, CSB 19. Fouled out - none. Rebounds - SDSU 36 (Larson, Parks 6), CSB 35 (Mays 9). Assists - SDSU 11 (Larson 6), CSB 7 (Corbin 4). Steals - SDSU 4 (Larson, Bittle, Marshall, Theisen), CSB 4 (Mays, Aly Ahmed, Corbin, Richmond). Blocked shots - SDSU 5 (Larson 2), CSB 2 (Aly Ahmed, Jones). Turnovers - SDSU 8, CSB 12.