The Jackrabbits opened up the opening week of Summit League play by making two statement wins. The opening travel partner weekend for the men were polar opposite styles. First, a game versus a defensive led Kansas City (UMKC) squad and then Oral Roberts(ORU) who can shoot threes at a comparable percentage as the best of them!
While the two opponents were different, the Jacks attacked them the same. SDSU started with a heavy load of inside action to Doug Wilson who led all scorers in both games with 16 and 21. He also had a strong week at the freethrow line going 19-19.
Offense wasn’t the only thing on display, the Jackrabbit men came out strong defensively too. While allowing UMKC to only score 57 points, and ORU a team averaging 85+ a night, was held to only score 76 points, the Jacks should be most proud of holding Max Abmas to 19 points on 7 of 15 shooting. Opposing quick guards have been killing the Jacks this year and it was a positive sign seeing them focus and slow the reigning player of the year down.
We did see a lineup change in the ORU game 2 seeing Zeke Mayo and Charlie Easley take the starting spots from Matt Dentlinger and Noah Friedel. Zeke stepped up huge offensively to start Summit League play with 12 and 13 points in the opening teams games.
Having Mayo offensively step up in conference play and Luke Appel becoming a consistent big man weapon off the bench could just be what the Jacks need to fully round out their team. . We will see what lasting effects there will be with Noah Fridel sitting out and if this is a multiple game benching or if a one and done situation for the teams leading scorer.
Overall,the Jackrabbits made a major statement to the rest of the conference with their recent wins. The gap between SDSU and the second tier Summit League teams widened this weekend. The next two games against the North Dakota teams will be important for continued momentum!
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