MBB: Jacks roll past Mount Marty

BROOKINGS, S.D. (GoJacks.com) — South Dakota State men’s basketball cruised past Mount Marty 93-50 in its home opener Monday night at Frost Arena.

The Jacks shot 58.7 percent from the field, outscored the Lancers 60-14 in the paint and dominated the glass, claiming a 51-20 rebound advantage.

Matt Dentlinger led all scorers with 21 points and added eight rebounds for the Jacks. David Wingett and Luke Appel both scored 16 points with Appel grabbing six rebounds. Baylor Scheierman notched his fifth double-double of the season, tallying 12 points and 14 rebounds, while Charlie Easley scored nine points and corralled eight rebounds.

Mount Marty made four of its first seven attempts, all 3-pointers, to take a 12-9 edge in the opening five minutes. A Jackrabbit run of eight unanswered gave SDSU the lead for good, with Dentlinger proving to be the spark. He scored 10 of the first 21 Jackrabbit points as State built up a 21-16 lead with 10:43 in the half.

The Jacks took control, outscoring the Lancers 14-6 over the next six minutes, and led 36-22 with 4:19 in the first. Mount Marty followed with a 7-0 run to get back within seven, but Dentlinger scored the half’s final four points and the Jacks led 42-31 at the break.

SDSU opened the floodgates in the second half. Wingett scored the first nine Jackrabbit points out of the break to put State up 51-33 at the 15:34 mark. The Jacks sealed the game with a 26-4 run and Willie Mfum’s thunderous fastbreak slam with 20 seconds left provided an exclamation point.

South Dakota State is scheduled to open Summit League play Friday when it hosts Western Illinois. Tipoff is set for 7:30 at Frost Arena.