OGDEN, Utah — South Dakota State battled back from a double-digit deficit late in the second half, but Weber State’s Dillon Jones connected on a game-winning jumper with time winding down to lead the Wildcats to a 75-73 victory over the Jackrabbits on Wednesday. The matchup between SDSU and Weber inside the Dee Events Center was part of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge.
The Wildcats held multiple 13-point advantages during the second half that saw the Jackrabbits rally back from.
SDSU used an 11-2 run to make it a 60-56 contest with 8:43 on the clock for its first comeback bid. The Wildcats’ next possession saw Weber State’s Dyson Koehler hit a 3-pointer to push their advantage back to seven.
The Wildcats pushed their lead to 13 at 71-58 with 5:52 remaining. The Jackrabbits followed up by outscoring Weber State by double digits to tie the score over nearly the next six minutes of play.
William Kyle III slammed down a dunk, Matt Mims hit two 3-pointers, Charlie Easley drained a 3-pointer, Luke Appel converted on two free throws, and along with two forced turnovers, SDSU cut the score to 73-71 with 55 seconds remaining.
SDSU fouled Jones on Weber State’s next possession and he missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity at the free throw line. The Jackrabbits pushed the ball ahead in transition and Zeke Mayo made a layup to tie the score at 73-73 with 29 seconds on the clock.
Weber State set its offense up with the shot clock turned off. Jones worked his way into the paint and used a fadeaway jumper which he swished to put the Wildcats up 75-73. Just a tenth of a second was left on the clock following a review of the play. SDSU tried a hail mary full-court pass for a tip-in attempt on the ensuing inbounds attempt, but the Jackrabbits weren’t able to convert.
Weber State improved to 10-4 overall with the victory. South Dakota State dropped to 7-8.
The Jackrabbits held an early advantage in the non-conference contest. A Nate Barnhart jumper in the paint put SDSU ahead 14-7 with just over five minutes off the clock in the first half.
Weber State whittled away at the South Dakota State advantage and eventually went ahead 18-17 on a Jones 3-pointer at the 11:34 mark. After trailing 23-19, SDSU used a seven-point scoring run to get back in front. A 12-point scoring run for the Wildcats, capped by a Koehler 3-pointer, gave Weber State a 35-28 edge with 4:07 to go in the opening half.
The Wildcats went into the halftime break up 40-35 thanks to making four more 3-pointers than the Jacks.
SDSU began the second half with a three-point play as Luke Appel was fouled on a layup and converted on the and-one opportunity. That made it a 40-38 margin with Weber State narrowly ahead. However, the Wildcats responded with eight consecutive points to push the lead to double digits at 48-38.
That set up the heroics that resulted in a game-winner with less than a second remaining on Wednesday night.
Notes
- Mayo led SDSU in the score column with 20 points on 6 of 11 shooting and 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Joining him in double digits were Kyle III (15) and Luke Appel (13).
- Barnhart finished with a team-high six rebounds for SDSU. The Jackrabbits had a 33-30 rebound advantage over the Wildcats. Appel dished out four assists.
- Jones had a game-high 23 points and nearly produced a double-double. He had a game-high nine assists and also grabbed six rebounds. Alex Tew snagged a game-high 10 rebounds. Jones was joined in double digits scoring by Blaise Threatt (17) and Koehler (15).
- The Wildcats went 13 of 33 from 3-point range (39.4%) while the Jacks were 9-for-22 (40.9%). SDSU had a 50.9-46.7% edge from the field, but lost the turnover battle 10-7.
Up Next
SDSU returns to Brookings for the second game of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 6, The Jackrabbits host Montana State as part of a doubleheader with the South Dakota State women’s basketball program in Frost Arena. The men’s game is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.