SDSU led 31-26 at halftime but Buena Vista hung tough in the second half, thanks in part to the three-point shooting of guard Eric Wiebers, who hit seven treys and led the Beavers with 30 points. BVU came back from a 41-31 deficit to lead 44-43 on a layup by Randy Bissen with 11:56 to play. Bissen was the second leading scorer with ten points.
Two free throws by Green put the Jacks back on top, and they built a 58-46 advantage with Green scoring nine points and adding an assist to a basket by Luke Geiver.
Green had a double-double with 10 rebounds as SDSU had a 48-37 advantage on the boards. The Jacks had three players in double figures with Ben Beran adding 19 points and 9 rebounds while Michael Loney added 13 points.
Neither team shot well, SDSU at 39 percent and BVU at 38, but the Jacks overcame a 26-24 field goal deficit by hitting 24-of-30 free throws including 18-of-21 in the second half.
SDSU, now 3-11 for the season, will host North Dakota State next Saturday, Jan. 15, while BV fell to 9-1 and will play at Wartburg Tuesday.
South Dakota State 75, Buena Vista 65 Buena Vista (9-1) Michael Cameron 1-8 0-0 2, Randy Bissen 4-8 2-5 10, Brandon Kies 3-12 0-0 7, Jordan Campbell 3-10 0-0 7, Eric Wiebers 11-8 1-1 30, Nesha Francic 0-0 0-0 0, Jesse Schmidt 1-3 0-0 2, Matt Wittry 2-4 0-0 5, Mark Joekel 0-2 0-0 0, Reece Viet 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 26-68 3-6 65. South Dakota State (3-11) Joe Green 8-15 6-6 24, Ben Beran 5-13 9-12 19, Jared DeJong 1-6 2-2 4, Luke Geiver 2-7 3-4 7, Brady Hokenson 0-3 1-2 1, Mackenzie Casey 0-2 0-0 0, Andy Kleinjan3-6 0-1 7, Michael Loney 5-9 3-3 13. Totals 24-61 24-30 75. Halftime: SDSU 31, BVU 26 FG% - BVU .382, SDSU .393. 3-pt FG – BVU 10-37 (Wiebers 7-13, Wittry 1-1, Kies 1-6, Campbell 1-7, Bissen 0-1, Schmidt 0-1, Joekel 0-2, Viet 0-2, Cameron 0-4), SDSU 3-16 (Green 2-6, Kleinjan 1-3, Loney 0-1, Casey 0-1, Geiver 0-2, Hokenson 0-3). Rebounds – BVU 37 (Campbell 7), SDSU 48 (Green 10, Beran 9). Fouls – BVU 25, SDSU 12. Fouled out – none. Assists – BVU 13 (Wittry 4), SDSU 16 (Geiver 5). Steals – BVU 8 (Wiebers 4), SDSU 9 (Green 2, Beran 2, Geiver 2, Kleinjan 2). Blocked shots – BV 6 (Bissen 2, Campbell 2), SDSU 2 (Beran 2). Turnovers – BVU 15, SDSU 13. Attendance-1313.