BROOKINGS, S.D. --- UC Irvine men's basketball executed its gameplan in the season opener, but the host Jackrabbits came out on top in the final score winning 65-54 Friday night at Frost Arena.

South Dakota State (1-0) made the first charge hitting four times from behind the arc early to take a seven-point lead, and sustained that lead until the 3:58-mark of the first half as Elston Jones, making his Anteater debut, muscled his way hooking a shot home to give UCI the 24-22 lead.

SDSU continued its barrage from three as the lead yo-yoed, and served up a huge shot with five seconds left by David Jenkins Jr. to knot things up at 31-31 going into the half.

Eyassu Worku turned around and heaved a shot from 70 feet banking it home seemingly giving UC Irvine (0-1) a huge momentum boost, but the review waved off the shot keeping things tied at halftime.

The squads traded barbs early in the second half before SDSU's star Mike Daum appeared with his only three field goals of the game to push the Jacks up by nine points.

Evan Leonard got two of his 10 points closing the gap to 49-47 with seven minutes left, but the SDSU three-point attack helped them pull away late as they would avenge their two losses to the 'Eaters last season opening with a 65-54 victory.

The difference looked to be SDSU's three-point shooting making 14 from beyond the arc out of the 17 shots overall, led by 16 points from Jenkins Jr.

UC Irvine commanded the rest of the stat sheet shooting 38% from the field to just 30% from the Jacks, and UCI hauled in 13 more rebounds led by double-digit totals from Elston Jones (14) and Jonathan Galloway (13).

The 'Eaters were led by Eyassu Worku who dropped in 12 points, five assists, and three steals to lead the team in each category.

"I thought we played well enough to win on the defensive end," noted head coach Russell Turner after the game. "I wish we could have played better on offense in order for us to win the game. Last year, we were able to create the same type of game as this was tonight."

The 'Eaters and Jackrabbits matched up twice last year in the span of 11 days, and the 'Eaters were able to win each game by double-figures including one in Sioux Falls, but in SDSU's home this season, the 2,669 in attendance helped push them over the top.

"We face a schedule this year that is unforgiving and difficult, so if we're able to get wins, they'll be quality wins. This would have been a quality win if we could get it, and at halftime, I felt like we were in position to bring this game down to the wire and have a chance to win it, but we weren't able to make the play that would have kept the game close like in the first half. I do think that we're going to continue to get better, and I believe in these guys."

The unforgiving schedule drives on with a chance to earn a quality win on Sunday as UC Irvine heads to Denver for a 3:00 p.m. matchup against the Pioneers who will be opening their season in that matchup.