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http://www.argusleader.com/sports/Sundayarticle4.shtml
Slow start dooms Jackrabbit men
Chris Solari
Argus Leader
published: 12/19/2004
BROOKINGS - Joe Green's pass sailed well above his intended target, easily clearing the heads of the South Dakota State cheerleaders.
Steve Holdren pulled down a rebound and immediately dribbled into a teammate. The referee just as quickly whistled a traveling violation, Holdren's head sinking toward the floor as he walked away.
Those two plays summed up a first half wrought with frustration and futility.
SDSU never recovered from that abysmal start as the Jackrabbits dropped to 1-8 on the season with a 69-60 loss to the Division II Michigan Tech Huskies.
"It was more important for them to win that basketball game than it was for our players to win it," SDSU coach Scott Nagy said afterward, staring off into the empty arena as if replaying it all in his mind. "You would think being 1-7 that I could do a better job of getting our players prepared. But I didn't. We just weren't prepared to play."
That there is a multitude of problems with the Jacks reads as black and white as the stripes on Nagy's tie. But so far, the 10th-year coach hasn't been able to lead his charges to many fixes.
His Jackrabbits fell behind by as many as 19 early in the second half, to the shock of the 1,803 fans at Frost Arena, but SDSU used a 13-0 run to pull back within six midway through the period.
The Jacks trimmed the Huskies' lead to three on a Luke Geiver 3-pointer with 3:10 to play, but Jason Marcotte quickly answered with a trifecta of his own to allay any trepidation on Michigan Tech's part.
"(The Jackrabbits) missed shots early, and that gave us a little bit of a cushion," Huskies coach Kevin Luke said. "We knew that they were going to make a huge run. It was just a matter of when it was going to happen."
Michigan Tech (6-2) destroyed SDSU from the outside, especially in an early-game blitz that gave them a 16-point cushion. The Huskies drained 6 of 13 3-pointers in the opening half, with junior guard Bob Evans raining them in from a farm somewhere near Volga. Evans hit four of his first five from behind the arc, stepping farther and farther back and connecting as the Huskies built a 31-15 lead with 4:07 left before halftime.
Evans finished the game with 18 points, making 5 of 11 from beyond the 3-point line.
Michigan Tech made 51 percent from the field for the game. All five starters combined to score the Huskies' 69 points.
"There were guys that we knew all they could do was shoot," said SDSU senior Brady Hokenson, who finished with 12 points. "We left them wide open."
SDSU, meantime, shot just 37.5 percent from the field, trailing 33-22 at intermission. The Jacks hit 40 percent in the final half but were forced to launch off-balance and ill advised 3-balls to try and catch up.
Freshman Holdren led SDSU with 13 points and seven rebounds. Redshirt frosh Michael Loney chipped in 11 points.
"We didn't deserve to win," Nagy said. "The first half, in particular, we didn't play very good. The second half, we played with more heart. But offensively, it's such a struggle for us right now."
Nagy's frustration this season is clearly nearing a boiling point. He's faulting himself. He's faulting his team's effort. He's questioning his scheduling. But when rattling off that list, he seems to be mostly looking for answers.
"We're just trying to do too much with the players we have," he said. "We've got to make it a lot more simple and just do a way better job of coaching. We're just getting outcoached right now."
NOTES: Guard Andy Kleinjan returned to action for the first time this season after suffering a stress fracture in his foot. He was scoreless in seven minutes. ... The nine-point final margin is the largest difference between the two teams, which have met in each of the last four seasons. Each school has won two. ... Michigan Tech outrebounded SDSU 38-30, but the Jacks had 13 offensive boards. ... The Jackrabbits travel to Tennessee State, another Division I opponent, on Wednesday.
Reach Chris Solari at 977-3923.