S. Dakota St. earns Summit title, 7th NCAA berth

Mar 13, 2024, 12:25 AM ET

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.– Luke Appel and Zeke Mayo each scored 16 points and South Dakota State defeated Denver 76-68 on Tuesday night to win the Top League tournament and advance to the NCAA competition for the seventh time.The Jackrabbits built a 22-5 lead within the very first 10 minutes. South Dakota State led 37-23 at halftime and pressed its lead to 23 with eight minutes left in policy. Jaxon Brenchley and Pedro Lopez-Sanvicente then hit 3-pointers for Denver, and the Pioneers went on a 15-2 run to make it 65-53 with 3 1/2 minutes left.Brenchley struck a 3-pointer, included one complimentary toss on the next belongings, then hit another 3 to get Denver within 67-62 with a minute left. The Jackrabbits made 7 of 8 free throws to seal the win.William Kyle

III had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Jackrabbits (22-12), and Matt Mims and Kalen Garry each scored 11.

Brenchley ended up with 20 points, and Tommy Bruner, the nation’s leading scorer at 24.2 points per game, had 17 for Denver (17-17). Bruner made only 1 of 9 3-pointers and was 7-for-21 general. DeAndre Craig scored 12.

The Jackrabbits were 11-of-17 to start the game. Mayo made half the Jackrabbits’ six 3s and scored 10 before the break. South Dakota State finished 9-of-23 from 3-point distance and Denver made 11 of 36.

South Dakota State won the Top League champion for the seventh time in eight title-game looks since 2012.

Denver has actually never ever played in the NCAA tournament and was playing in a conference tournament national championship for simply the 2nd time.