Summit League basketball: South Dakota State holds off Kansas City

BROOKINGS — Usually if a basketball team has a stretch in a game where they outscore their opponent 20-0, they’re going to win that game.

South Dakota State had a 20-0 run in the first half of their Summit League game against Kansas City on Thursday, and they did indeed secure a 75-66 win in front of 2,012 Frost Arena fans.

But the Kangaroos did not go quietly.

Trailing by 15 late in the first half after that huge scoring stretch by the Jacks and by 10 at the break, UMKC came out hot in the second half, cutting the Jackrabbit lead to three points eight minutes in and taking a 61-59 lead with 6:32 to go.

It was tied at 66 with 2:46 to go when Luke Appel expanded the range on his patented one-hander, sinking a left-handed hook to put the Jacks on top for good, starting a 9-0 run to close out the game and send SDSU to 5-1 in Summit League play (12-9 overall).

“I just knew the shot clock was running out,” said Appel, who made the game-winner after grabbing the rebound when his first attempt was blocked by UMKC’s Jeff Ngandu. “I had just got blocked again so I just had to get something up there.”

“It was a good shot,” teammate Charlie Easley nodded approvingly.

After Matt Mims had made it a two-score game with a pair of free throws, Zeke Mayo, who struggled much of the night, made an aggressive drive through the lane for a layup that made it a six-point lead and put the Kangaroos away.

“You have to love conference games – there’s always gonna be some excitement and there was tonight,” said Jacks coach Eric Henderson. “(UMKC) got hot in the second half. They made some hard shots. I was proud of our guys showing resiliency and finishing the game.”

The Jacks started slow, as both teams were a little sleepy on offense in the early going. Then came the 20-0 run, in which the Jacks defense kept the Kangaroos (8-13, 2-4) out of the paint and their offense dominated by sending it in there. The only two 3-pointers they made all night — both by Mims — also came during the 20-0 stretch.

“Our urgency defensively was really good and we rebounded better during that stretch,” Henderson said. “They only had four paint touches in the first half. We got ‘er cookin’. When you’re able to get stops and play with good pace on the offensive end you’ve seen this team be pretty efficient.”

Appel had 19 points to lead both teams, while Mims had 15. William Kyle had 13 points and seven boards and Easley had 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Mayo had nine points, seven rebounds and four assists.

The Jacks shot 49 percent to UMKC’s 36. SDSU outscored the visitors 17-3 at the line and 48-14 in the paint. The ‘Roos (who were led by Jamar Brown’s 17 points) were 15-of-38 from deep to SDSU’s 2-for-11, but ultimately SDSU’s dominance inside won out.

“Credit to (UMKC), they hit shots in the second half,” Easley said. “They started off hot and that’ll get you back in the game. They made it close — the next step for us is learning how to close games better.”

The Jackrabbit women picked up their eighth win in a row and improved to 6-0 in Summit League action with a 72-49 win over Kansas City at the Swinney Center in Kansas City.

Tori Nelson and Paige Meyer had 14 points each to lead the Jackrabbits (14-5 overall), with Nelson adding six rebounds, four assists and three steals and Meyer dishing a game-high five assists. Madison Mathiowetz had 12 points and five boards and Brooklyn Meyer added 11 points, seven rebounds and a whopping seven steals, a career-high.

No one scored in double figures for the Kangaroos, who shot 30 percent for the game and had 21 turnovers.

SDSU will return home to face Oral Roberts on Sunday for a 3 p.m. tip.

Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at mzimmer@siouxfallslive.com.