EditorsNote: Fixes typos and adds largest lead
Noah Freidel scored 23 points, Baylor Scheierman added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and South Dakota State led almost wire-to-wire en route to a 71-68 win over Iowa State on Wednesday in Ames, Iowa.
The visiting Jackrabbits (2-2) trailed for less than a minute in the opening minutes of the first half before taking a, building a 15-point lead, and then holding on down the stretch.
Iowa State (1-1) shot just 11-of-27 (40.7 percent) from the floor in the first half, including a dismal 2-of-14 from behind the 3-point line. South Dakota State, meanwhile, knocked down 5-of-11 from beyond the arc and 60 percent from the floor to build a 12-point lead at halftime.
The Cyclones' shooting from the floor improved to 18-of-33 (54.5 percent) in the second half, with Solomon Young setting the pace. He scored 16 of his game-high 24 points after halftime.
But the combination of South Dakota State's initial lead and the Jackrabbits' own effective offense was too much for Iowa State to overcome.
The Jackrabbits extended their lead to 15 points with 14:33 left in the game, and kept the deficit in double digits for much of the half.
Freidel and Scheierman both scored 10 points coming out of the halftime locker room, and Douglas Wilson notched eight of his 16 points in the second half. Wilson's biggest basket was a floater in the paint in the final minute to repel an Iowa State surge.
The Cyclones trimmed the deficit to eight points with just over four minutes to plan, then ripped off five straight points on a Young jumper and a 3-pointer from Jalen Coleman-Lands.
Iowa State closed to within a point when Javan Johnson made two free throws with 22 seconds remaining. But Alex Arians, who finished with 10 points, answered with two from the foul stripe, and with the Cyclones looking for a 3-pointer to tie the score, Scheierman stepped in front of a Coleman-Lands pass for a key steal with eight seconds to play.
Coleman-Lands finished with 12 points for Iowa State. Johnson had 13 points and a game-high eight assists. Arians led South Dakota State with seven assists.
--Field Level Media
