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Highlights from the Brookings Register:
http://www.brookingsregister.com/mai...39&page=25
Locals watched with excitement
BY MIKE JOHNSON
Cubby's Sports Bar & Grill was the place to be Sunday night as South Dakota State University men's basketball fans of all ages packed the downtown Brookings hot spot.
They flocked to watch the team take on No. 9 ranked Kentucky at Lexington's famous Rupp Arena, in round one of the fifth annual Guardians Classic.
The Jackrabbits faced the daunting task of taking on the winningest team in NCAA Divison I-A history in the Wildcats.
But, they held their own — and actually held the first lead of the game on a Matt Cadwell layup — giving SDSU the 2-0 advantage early on.
Both teams played very poorly at the outset, as Kentucky missed its first eight shots, and the Jacks turned the ball over five times in the first four minutes.
In the end, Kentucky proved to be too much, sinking the Jacks 71-54, but the common belief of Cubby's viewers seemed to be that SDSU played much better than expected.
"I can't believe we were even that close," many fans said. "They still had their starters in at the end."
With the nationally-televised game being played on ESPNU, and displayed on nearly every television at Cubby's, Jackrabbit fans had the opportunity to see first hand how the squad would respond to playing a national powerhouse.
Each and every basket drew huge cheers from the Cubby's enclave, and any perceived bad calls gave fans a reason to express their displeasure accordingly.
The first of the largest cheers came on a Ben Beran dunk that forced a Kentucky timeout at 20-10 with 8:25 remaining. . . .
Andre Gilbert was one of many Jackrabbits to show jitters in the first half, but the redshirt freshman drew perhaps the largest of cheers in Brookings on a jaw-dropping, one-handed putback slam dunk.
Gilbert again showed off his athletic ability later in the second half, soaring through the air for another dunk, a two-handed rim rocker off of an alleyoop inbounds pass.
Though the Jackrabbits were unable to cut into the large Kentucky lead — they showed resolve.
In fact, in the second half, the Jackrabbits showed grit and hung in against Kentucky as the Wildcats only outscored SDSU by four points after halftime. . . .
Go State! ;D
http://www.brookingsregister.com/mai...39&page=25
Locals watched with excitement
BY MIKE JOHNSON
Cubby's Sports Bar & Grill was the place to be Sunday night as South Dakota State University men's basketball fans of all ages packed the downtown Brookings hot spot.
They flocked to watch the team take on No. 9 ranked Kentucky at Lexington's famous Rupp Arena, in round one of the fifth annual Guardians Classic.
The Jackrabbits faced the daunting task of taking on the winningest team in NCAA Divison I-A history in the Wildcats.
But, they held their own — and actually held the first lead of the game on a Matt Cadwell layup — giving SDSU the 2-0 advantage early on.
Both teams played very poorly at the outset, as Kentucky missed its first eight shots, and the Jacks turned the ball over five times in the first four minutes.
In the end, Kentucky proved to be too much, sinking the Jacks 71-54, but the common belief of Cubby's viewers seemed to be that SDSU played much better than expected.
"I can't believe we were even that close," many fans said. "They still had their starters in at the end."
With the nationally-televised game being played on ESPNU, and displayed on nearly every television at Cubby's, Jackrabbit fans had the opportunity to see first hand how the squad would respond to playing a national powerhouse.
Each and every basket drew huge cheers from the Cubby's enclave, and any perceived bad calls gave fans a reason to express their displeasure accordingly.
The first of the largest cheers came on a Ben Beran dunk that forced a Kentucky timeout at 20-10 with 8:25 remaining. . . .
Andre Gilbert was one of many Jackrabbits to show jitters in the first half, but the redshirt freshman drew perhaps the largest of cheers in Brookings on a jaw-dropping, one-handed putback slam dunk.
Gilbert again showed off his athletic ability later in the second half, soaring through the air for another dunk, a two-handed rim rocker off of an alleyoop inbounds pass.
Though the Jackrabbits were unable to cut into the large Kentucky lead — they showed resolve.
In fact, in the second half, the Jackrabbits showed grit and hung in against Kentucky as the Wildcats only outscored SDSU by four points after halftime. . . .
Go State! ;D