SDSU Men Lose in Double Overtime in California

A pair of Stephon Carter free throws with :00.5 left, gave Cal State - Bakersfield a 79-78 win South Dakota State in double overtime Wednesday night.

The Jackrabbits blew an eight-point halftime lead, and had to rally from five point deficits in the second half of regulation, and in both overtimes.

Unlike the last time when these two teams met and they both shot the ball over 50 percent in the first half, only the Jacks were even remotely accurate in the first half of this one.

South Dakota Sate opened the game with a 10-2 run, only to see the Roadrunners respond with eight straight of their own.  But just as quickly, the Jacks ripped off another 10-2 burst, as SDSU shot 46 percent in the first half compared to just 17 percent for Baskersfield, but nine South Dakota State turnovers kept them from grabbing more that a 28-20 lead at the break.

Wolters led the charge with 12 first half points, to go with five rebounds and three assists.

The Jacks stumbled out of the locker room at start the second half, getting off just one shot and turning the ball over three times in the first thee minutes, as Bakersfield rallied to tie it at 28, eventually pushing the lead to 38-33 with 13:49 left.

From there, SDSU climbed back in it and the game began to resemble the first meeting which featured 15 lead changes and eight ties, as the two teams went back and forth.

The Jacks defense stiffened late in the second, not allowing a Bakersfield field goal in the final 8:03 of the game.  The only scoring the Roadrunners did down the stretch was seven free throws.  Meanwhile, SDSU was struggling themselves, getting off just a single shot in the final two minutes as regulation ended 55-55.

Bakersfield took control in the first OT, leading 63-58 with 3:00 left, but another Jacks comeback was capped with a Wolters game tying bucket with :05 left to force a second overtime.

The second overtime started just like the first, with the Roadrunners jumping out to a five point lead in the first two minutes, and like in the first OT, SDSU answered, this time with a Brayden Carlson three-pointer giving them a 77-75 lead with 1:34 left.

With the game tied at 77 with :40 left, Wolters had a chance to put the Jacks up two, but missed one-of-two, the finals of his 32 points on the night, and SDSU had to settle for a one point lead at 78-77.  The Roadrunners had one final chance, as an Adam Young three-pointer missed with :01 left, but Chad White was called for a foul on the rebound, and that's when Carter stepped to the line to end it.

Free throws were a big story line in this series.  South Dakota State shot 23 more than Bakersfield in their December meeting, outscoring the Roadrunners by 17 at the line.  In Wednesday's game the tables were turned, with Bakersfield shooting 12 more free throws than the Jacks, outscoring SDSU by 13 at the line.

With the loss, SDSU falls to 21-8. The Jacks play a BracketBuster game at Murray State Saturday night at 7 on ESPN2.