A poor first half still wasn't enough to stop No. 7 Nevada from continuing its unbeaten start to the season. Senior Jordan Caroline had 21 points and nine rebounds to lead Nevada to a 72-68 win over South Dakota State on Saturday.

Nevada improved to 11-0.

South Dakota State made it known in the first half that it was going to hang around, going on a 10-2 run to take a 28-20 lead with 6:22 left in the first half.

The Jackrabbits ultimately held a 40-33 lead at halftime after a 3-point just before the buzzer by Alex Arians.

Nevada came out strong in the second half, going on a 12-3 run to take a 45-43 lead with 16:46 remaining.

After South Dakota State took a 47-45 lead with 13:21 left, Nevada went on a 9-0 run to take a 54-47 lead with 11:07 remaining.

The Jackrabbits responded with a 9-2 run that tied the game at 56-56 with 7:59 left.

Nevada surged ahead, 65-60, with 4:29 remaining, but South Dakota state closed within 65-63 on a 3-pointer by senior Skyler Flatten with 3:04 left.

But that would be as close as South Dakota State would get, as Nevada went on a 6-0 run to take a 71-63 lead with 46 seconds remaining.

Senior Caleb Martin had 20 points, five assists and three steals, and seniors Cody Martin and Trey Porter each added 12 points to lead Nevada, which overcame a cold shooting night from the field.

Nevada shot 33.8 percent overall (22 of 65) and 25.6 percent from 3-point range (10 of 39).

Flatten scored 20 points and freshman Owen King came off of the bench to score 13 points for South Dakota State, which shot 41.8 percent from the field overall (23 of 55), 11 of 28 from 3-point range and outrebounded Nevada, 41-37.

However, South Dakota State committed 15 turnovers to just six for Nevada.

--Field Level Media