BROOKINGS, S.D. — The Montana State men's basketball team dropped its second game of the Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge Saturday, losing to South Dakota State 89-61.
The Jackrabbits scored the game's first five points and never trailed. Holding a 26-16 lead at the 10:03 mark of the first half, the Jacks exploded onto a 19-0 run over the next six minutes — 10 of those points coming off Bobcat turnovers. SDSU led 49-26 at halftime.
The Jacks pushed the lead to their largest of the game — 82-51 — with 4:40 to play behind a blistering shooting performance. They shot nearly 70% from the floor and hit 8 of 19 3-pointers (42.1%). William Kyle III scored 21 points on 9-of-9 shooting to lead SDSU, which also got 19 points from Zeke Mayo on 7-of-11 shooting. Mayo added seven assists and six rebounds.
Montana State shot just 37.5% in the game, including an 8-for-31 effort from 3-point range. Eddie Turner III and Brian Goracke each finished with 10 points to lead the Bobcats.
Montana State (6-9 overall, 1-1 Big Sky Conference) returns to Bozeman for a four-game conference home stand. The Bobcats host Northern Arizona on Jan. 11, followed by Northern Colorado, Montana and Idaho State.
