VERMILLION, S.D.—Zeke Mayo scored a game-high 20 points and Charlie Easley added 19 to lift South Dakota State to a 73-55 win against South Dakota Saturday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
 
The victory puts the Jackrabbits (11-9, 4-1 Summit) alone atop the Summit League standings with a 4-1 record. South Dakota (9-11, 2-3) is part of a logjam of conference teams now trailing the Jacks. The rematch of this rivalry series is Feb. 4 in Brookings.
 
Mayo hit four 3-pointers while Easley hit a variety of shots during a 9-for-12 shooting effort. The Jacks jumped out to a 12-2 lead and never trailed. The Coyotes trimmed a 37-26 halftime deficit to 45-42 on a Kaleb Stewart 3-pointer seven minutes into the second half and Max Burchill hit a 3 for South Dakota that closed the gap to 50-47 with 10:43 left. USD totaled eight points on 2-of-13 shooting and committed seven turnovers the rest of the way.
 
Jevon Hill was 5-for-9 from behind the arc for 15 points to lead South Dakota. Stewart had 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting two days after missing Thursday's game due to illness. Lahat Thioune had six points and eight rebounds.
 
South Dakota State big men Luke Appel (12) and William Kyle III combined for 23 points on 11-of-24 shooting and the Jackrabbits dominated the paint, outscoring the home team 46-12 there. South Dakota settled for a season-high 32 three-point tries and made 11.
 
Mayo was 4-of-9 from long range, but the rest of the Jacks were 2-of-12. A string of misses allowed South Dakota to pull close in the second half. Easley scored 11 of his 19 points over the final nine minutes. He was two points shy of his season high against Division I foes this season.
 
It was a physical game as most rivalry contests are but both teams shot just four free throws apiece. Half of SDSU's attempts came after a technical foul with seven minutes to go.
 
South Dakota takes to the road next week with contests at Denver (Thursday) and Kansas City (Saturday).