Men defeat Western Illinois

MACOMB, Ill. (GoJacks.com) — South Dakota State men’s basketball won its third consecutive game Saturday night, taking down Western Illinois on the road, 71-61.

The Jackrabbits (17-8, 8-2 Summit League) saw the Leathernecks storm back from an 18-point halftime deficit to make it a one-possession game, but outscored WIU by nine from that point on to close out the win.

Douglas Wilson paced the Jackrabbit offense with 18 points, hitting 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-6 at the line. Alex Arians and Noah Freidel were in double figures as well with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Arians hit 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and led the team with six rebounds. Five Jackrabbits – Freidel, Wilson, Matt Dentlinger, David Wingett and Baylor Scheierman – had five rebounds apiece as SDSU claimed a plus-16 advantage on the boards.

South Dakota State is idle until Saturday, Feb. 8 when it hosts Omaha for the 2020 Pork Classic. The doubleheader at Frost Arena gets underway with the women’s game at 2 p.m., followed by the men’s contest at 4:15 p.m.