Jacks bump Idaho St. in OT in Utah tourney

LOGAN, Utah – An overtime escape against a lowly ranked team on a neutral floor wasn't exactly what South Dakota State had in mind for the highly anticipated debut of touted transfer George Marshall.

Of course, it could have been worse — the Bengals had an open look from 3-point range as time expired. It missed off the back iron, allowing the Jackrabbits to gain a 75-72 victory in the opening game of the World Vision Classic hosted by Utah State.

Key in their fifth consecutive win: a 7-0 spurt between the end of regulation and the start of overtime, the rebounding of the 6-foot-1 point guard Marshall and a career performance by reserve center Connor Devine.

It was the second game in a row that SDSU beat a team from Idaho at the wire. Coach Scott Nagy praised his team after the first, but not the second.

"It's hard to win a game and come (into the lockerroom) and talk to your players about the way you've been practicing," he said. "You'd like to be able to enjoy the win. But it's hard for us to enjoy the win when we know we're not playing the way we're capable."

Apparently, the Jacks (7-3) haven't been sharp or communicative or energetic at recent practices, and that carried over against the Bengals (3-6). They were unable to pull away during a run of about 20 minutes with the lead and wound up trailing by four with about 90 seconds remaining in overtime.

GAME CHATS:Click here to follow Terry Vandrovec's coverage of SDSU men vs. Cal State-Bakersfield tonight and vs. Utah State on Saturday.

Still, they wound up with two shots to win on the final possession of regulation and led by seven in overtime — the biggest spread for either team.

SDSU shouldn't have needed to sweat out the final possession. But it fouled on a 3-pointer, missed two free throws and committed a flagrant foul in the final 13 seconds of the extra session.

That was the source of the extra angst. Those mistakes were more egregious than struggling to get into an offensive rhythm. ISU was effective in combining its 2-3 zone with double teams in the post against SDSU standout forward Cody Larson.

"It was an ugly win, but at the same time a win is a win," Marshall said. "To pull out a win like that playing as poorly as we played showed great character and all the potential that we have."

Likewise, the former University of Wisconsin starter Marshall felt that he could have done more despite 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 43 minutes. He scored only three points in the second half and missed three foul shots in his first college game in more than 400 days.

"I think I did a good job just running the show," he said. "But as far as being efficient, making shots, just staying aggressive, I've got a lot of room for improvement."

Larson led the Jacks 17 points plus eight boards, while guard Deondre Parks added 15 points and seven boards.

Of greater surprise and importance was the play of the 6-10 sophomore Devine. He scored 13 points — a career high for the second outing in a row — and grabbed seven rebounds with three blocks in 25 minutes to the delight of a group of friends and family members who traveled from his home state of Alaska.

"He didn't get off to a very good start, but then played really well," Nagy said. "Very happy with him. He's coming along. We're gaining confidence in him."

So it wasn't all bad for the Jacks. They get to try to extend their winning streak at 6:30 p.m. today against Bakersfield in the second of three games at the event.

IDAHO ST. (3-6)

Solarin 8-15 6-9 22, Ezenwa 1-3 1-2 4, Magot 3-3 2-4 8, Wilson 1-4 2-4 4, Hansen 4-19 10-12 21, Luzcando 1-4 0-2 2, Hall 1-5 0-1 2, Slavik 0-0 0-0 0, Bradley 4-10 0-0 9. Totals 23-63 21-34 72.

S. DAKOTA ST. (7-3)

Horstman 1-2 0-0 3, Larson 6-14 5-8 17, Parks 5-15 4-6 15, Bittle 0-3 4-4 4, Marshall 4-12 5-8 15, Flatten 0-1 1-2 1, Tellinghuisen 2-7 0-0 5, Devine 5-7 3-4 13, Theisen 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-63 22-32 75.

Halftime—S. Dakota St. 30-25. End Of Regulation—Tied 60. 3-Point Goals—Idaho St. 5-20 (Hansen 3-11, Ezenwa 1-1, Bradley 1-4, Luzcando 0-2, Hall 0-2), S. Dakota St. 5-23 (Marshall 2-8, Horstman 1-1, Tellinghuisen 1-5, Parks 1-8, Flatten 0-1). Fouled Out—Bradley, Ezenwa, Larson. Rebounds—Idaho St. 45 (Solarin 10), S. Dakota St. 45 (Larson, Marshall 8). Assists—Idaho St. 10 (Wilson 5), S. Dakota St. 13 (Bittle 4). Total Fouls—Idaho St. 27, S. Dakota St. 24. A—NA.