Jackrabbits blow out Bison behind stellar first half

South Dakota State hit eight of its first nine shots in other words the Jackrabbits came to play and put the Bison on blowout alert in the first half. A 23-point halftime lead turned into a 78-61 victory at Scheels Center at Sanford Health Athletic Complex.

It was SDSU’s biggest win in the Division I era of the series in Fargo, besting an 11-point win in 2005. The Bison won the first meeting last month in Brookings in overtime, but the Jackrabbits had no interest in anything that close in the final regular season game of the season.

An 18-0 run in the first half put the Bison in a big hole to ruin Skunberg’s goodbye day.

“Disappointing effort, a good ol’ fashion butt whippin’ by a team that’s playing with a ton of confidence and swag,” said NDSU head coach Dave Richman. “We obviously have to work this week to catch up to that and we have to get better.”

This much was certain heading into Saturday: the Jackrabbits had already clinched the regular season title and the No. 1 seed for next weekend’s Summit tourney. The Bison, meanwhile, with a win had so many seed scenarios depending on not only their outcome but that of other league teams.

Getting blown out in the first half now has them with either the No. 4 or 5 seed.

It was everybody for the Jacks in those first 20 minutes. Standout guard Zeke Mayo had 15 of his 19 points in that span, but SDSU got three 3-pointers from 7-foot backup center Nate Barnhart and shot 66% to take a 50-27 halftime lead.

“We had a lot of energy and a lot of togetherness,” said Jacks head coach Eric Henderson. “I just thought our spirit and intention was terrific. It all started on the defensive end. I thought our ability to protect the paint and create a few turnovers led to some pretty good offense.”

SDSU put on the cruise control in the second half and will take a 19-12 record (12-4 in the Summit) into the tournament. NDSU fell to 15-16 and finished the league regular season at 8-8, including losing at South Dakota on Thursday night.

“I feel some of us, our mental state is not in the right place,” said Bison guard Jacari White. “We’re not really connected right now.”

Said Richman: “We ran into some good teams and we haven’t had the urgency. We haven’t had the intensity. We haven’t had the fight out of the gates that we need.”

NDSU had won five straight at home before running into the SDSU buzzsaw. The Jacks took Bison center Andrew Morgan, one of the hottest players in the Summit of late, out of the game with consistent double teams on defense.

Morgan got only three shots off and finished with five points.

“They put multiple bodies around him,” Richman said. “They clearly had a game plan and they executed it. There are some of those things we’ve got to continue to take a look at.”

Skunberg finished with 12 points on 5 of 11 field goals. Not only was it his last home game, but backup sophomore guard Ryan Sletten from Larimore, North Dakota, is also moving on after two seasons and was part of the pre-game festivities. Sletten walked on as a freshman and earned a scholarship this season.

SDSU (19-12, 12-4 Summit): Appel 7-10 0-0 14, Kyle III 6-9 0-0 12, Mims 0-5 0-0 0, Mayo 8-11 0-1 19, Easley 6-11 0-0 13, Garry 2-6 0-0 4, Mors 2-6 0-0 5, Barnhart 3-4 2-2 11, Alvarez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 34-62 2-3 78.

NDSU (15-16, 8-8 Summit): Morgan 2-3 0-0 5, Feddersen 5-7 1-2 11, Wheeler-Thomas 3-6 0-0 6, White 6-8 0-0 16, Skunberg 5-11 0-0 12, Miller 0-5 0-0 0, Waddles 2-5 2-2 8, Dissette 0-1 0-0 0, Streit 0-0 0-0 0, Burke 0-2 1-2 1, Sletten 0-0 0-0 0, Hastreiter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 24-50 4-6 61.Halftime: SDSU 50, NDSU 27. Total fouls: SDSU 8, NDSU 7. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: SDSU 29 (Appel, Kyle III 6); NDSU 27 (Morgan 7). 3-point goals: SDSU 8-21 (Mims 0-4, Mayo 3-4, Easley 1-4, Garry 0-2, Mors 1-2, Barnhart 3-4 ); NDSU 9-22 (Morgan 1-2, White 4-5, Skunberg 2-6, Miller 0-2, Feddersen 0-1, Wheeler-Thomas 0-1, Waddles 2-4, Burke 0-1). Assists: SDSU 9 (four with 2); NDSU 8 (Morgan 3). Turnovers: SDSU 5 (Easley 2); NDSU 14 (Morgan 3). A-2,917.