South Dakota State's league road woes finally came to an end
last week, as the Jackrabbits exorcized the demons on Saturday with an 80-74
win in Macomb, Ill., against the Western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks, a win
that also marked the 1,300 triumph in program history.
Junior Michael Palarca came off the bench to score 12 of his
career-high 14 points in the second half, including two key three-pointers, to
spearhead the Jacks come-from-behind victory.
In addition to his career-high 14 points, Palarca tied a
career-best mark with three steals and added four assists and a pair of
rebounds. Kai Williams scored 11 points in the win, Garrett Callahan added 10,
while Chad White and Tony Fiegen both pitched in with nine. Dale Moss scored
eight points and finished with a game-high nine rebounds off the bench.
After just one weekend of Summit League play, the Jacks
return to non-conference action, starting tonight against Division II foe
Southwest Minnesota State. The Mustangs enter the contest ranked No. 11 in the
latest NABC Division II Coaches Poll, dropped their first conference game last
week at Minnesota
State, Mankato by the score of 82-64.
Callahan and Anthony Cordova both lead the Jackrabbit
offense through eight games with 11.1 points per game. Cordova adds a team-high
5.4 rebounds per game, while Clint Sargent adds 10.6 points per game. Palarca
leads the Jacks with 21 assists compared to just six turnovers.
RABBITS ON THE RADIO
- All Jackrabbit men's basketball games, home and on the road, can be heard
live on AM 570 WNAX, with Steve Imming doing the play-by-play. The pre-game
show begins 15 minutes before tipoff.
THE JACKRABBIT
INSIDER ON KSFY-TV - Fans of South Dakota State University Athletics can
now get a weekly behind-the-scenes look at Jackrabbit sports teams with the
addition of the "Jackrabbit Insider" to the KSFY Action News lineup.
Hosted by Tyler Merriam, the show airs on Sunday following
KSFY's 10 p.m. newscast.
THE JACKRABBIT EXTRA
ON GoJacks.com - Subscribers to the Jackrabbit Extra on GoJacks.com watch
every Jackrabbit home game and select road games streaming live on the
internet. In addition, subscribers can listen to every game, home and on the
road, streaming live on the internet.
To learn more about the Jackrabbit Extra, or to subscribe,
log onto GoJacks.com and click on "sign up"
SUMMIT TV ON
TheSummitLeague.org - Subscribers to Summit TV on TheSummitLeague.org can
watch every Summit League men's and women's basketball game streaming live on
the internet. To learn more about
Summit TV, log onto TheSummitLeague.org
NAGY TO COACH
BAREFOOT FOR SAMARITAN'S FEET - SDSU head coach Scott Nagy, along with
the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association and high school coaches
throughout the state, teamed up with Samaritan's Feet to raise money and shoes
for children all over the world.
All of the coaches from the SDBCA agreed to coach a game
barefoot between Jan. 14-23, culminating with coach Nagy coaching barefoot at
Frost Arena on Jan. 23, when the Jackrabbits host Oakland.
Fans interested in donating can simply text SHOES to 85944,
which automatically adds $5 to your next phone bill. Donations can also be made
online at SamaritansFeet.org.
SENIORS CLIMB THE
1,000 POINT CLUB LADDER - Seniors Garrett Callahan and Kai Williams both
joined the SDSU 1,000-Point Club last year as juniors and started their climb
up the all-time points ladder.
Callahan started the season ranked 25th all-time with 1,092
points, but already moved up to 17th on the list with 1,181 points. Williams
started the season 26th all-time with 1,091 point, and starts the week ranked
19th all-time with 1,164 points.
SARGENT CLOSES IN ON
1,000 POINTS - Jackrabbit junior Clint Sargent entered the season with 652
points, 348 shy of becoming the 41st member of the SDSU 1,000 Point Club. His
85 points so far this season gives him 737 points, 263 points shy of joining
the club. Sargent scored 244 points as a freshman, 408 as a sophomore and ranks
third on the team this season with 10.6 points per game.
A QUICK STUDY IN BALL
CONTROL - True freshman point guard Nate Wolters turned the ball over six
times in his collegiate debut, but just seven times over the next seven games
and just once in the last four games. Wolters averages 23.5 minutes per game
and ranks second on the team with 20 assists, for a 1.5 assist to turnover ratio.
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS
SW Minnesota State
Mustangs (4-1, 0-1 NSIC, 0-1 Away) - The defending NSIC champion Mustangs
qualified for the Division II Elite last season and come into
tonight's game following their first loss of the season in their first road game
of the season, an 82-64 defeat to conference foe Minnesota State, Mankato on
Saturday night.
Nick Dale leads the SMSU offense with 13.2 points and with
6.8 rebounds per game, mostly off the bench. A senior center, Dale started two
of the Mustangs five games this season. Jordan Miller started all five games
and adds 12.8 points, while Scott Roehl adds 12 points.
The Series vs. SMSU
- The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series 12-1, including a 70-66 win in Frost
Arena in the last meeting on Feb. 2, 2006.
The Jacks and Mustangs did meet in exhibition action before
the start of the 2008-09 season. SDSU led until late in the game, but SMSU went
on a late rally to win the game 70-65.
Nevada Wolf Pack
(2-4, 0-0 WAC, 2-0 Home) - The Wolf Pack, who host NAIA foe Fresno Pacific
tonight, won both of their home games this season and lost all four of their
road games, most recently a 61-58 loss at Pacific. One of Nevada's losses came
at the hands of national power North Carolina, who beat the Wolf Pack 80-73 in
Chapel Hill, N.C., on Nov. 29.
Luke Babbit leads the Nevada offense with 18.8 points and
with 10.7 rebounds per game. Armon Johnson adds 16.3 points and leads the team
with 31 assists. Brandon Fields adds 14.2 points, while Joey Shaw entered the
week with a 13.0 points per game average.
The Series vs. Nevada
- The Wolf Pack won the first and only meeting between the two teams 96-63, on
Dec. 3, 1982, in Reno.
NEXT UP FOR THE
JACKRABBITS - The Jackrabbits return to the road later this week when they
travel to the biggest little city in the world, Reno, Nev., to take on
the Nevada Wolf Pack.
The
Jacks return home a week from tonight to host Cal Poly in the return game from
last year's ESPNU BracketBuster contest in San Luis Obispo, Calif.