KANSAS CITY, Mo. (SDSU) – South Dakota State thwarted a final Kansas City possession to claim a win, 65-64, at the Swinney Center in a defensive skirmish on Thursday. The matchup featured 14 lead changes and nine tie scores over the course of 40 minutes. The opening half nearly saw the Roos gain control of the contest as a Jayson Petty 3-pointer put Kansas City ahead 32-24 at the 3:50 mark. SDSU followed with a nine-point scoring run, capped by an Isaac Lindsey 3-pointer, to go ahead 33-32. A pair of Babacar Diallo free throws with four seconds left on the clock put Kansas City in front, 37-36, at halftime. The Jackrabbits got up by five, 48-43, but within 10 seconds saw Kansas City hit a 3-pointer to cut the score to a single possession with 14 minutes remaining. The Roos took a 52-51 advantage briefly before a Matthew Mors 3-pointer put the Jacks on top again as the clock dipped under 10 minutes to play. SDSU spent the time remaining keeping Kansas City narrowly at bay. Two free throws by Oscar Cluff gave the Jackrabbits a 63-58 edge with 4:11 to go. The two sides locked down defensively from there.Kansas City cut the score to 63-62 with just over three minutes left. A set of free throws by Mors on SDSU's next possession made it 65-62. A combined three turnovers and a missed field goal eventually led to a Roos layup that made it a 65-64 contest in favor of the Jacks with 37 seconds left. SDSU had a field goal attempt blocked on its possession and the shot clock expired, giving Kansas City the ball with 7.9 seconds on the clock. The Roos inbounded the ball out of a timeout and had to work the way up nearly the entire court. Diallo handled the ball for Kansas City and was defended by Owen Larson. The SDSU freshman point guard forced a turnover as Diallo worked his way inside the 3-point line. SDSU's Kalen Garry came away with the ball as the game clock expired to close out a Jackrabbit victory. South Dakota improved to 13-8 overall and 4-2 in conference play. The Jackrabbits also earned their first true road victory, moving to 1-6 on the season. Kansas City fell to 10-11 overall and 2-4 in The Summit League.NOTES South Dakota State was paced by Cluff who had 23 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks. The Jackrabbit senior center recorded his eighth 20-plus point performance and his fourth game of at least 19 rebounds this season. His four blocks tied his career high while he made nine free throws which matched his career best.  Mors added 10 points for the Jacks and was followed by Joe Sayler (9) and Lindsey (8). Garry had a team-high four assists.  Anderson Kopp led Kansas City with 19 points. He was followed in double digits by Petty (11). Jamar Brown, The Summit League Preseason MVP, had eight points and nine rebounds for the Roos. The two teams had nearly identical shooting marks. Kansas City was 41.4% from the field and made 5 of 22 3s (22.7%). SDSU was 40% shooting and 4 of 18 from deep (22.2%). Both teams also turned the ball over 13 times while the Jacks had a tight 35-33 rebounding edge.  SDSU got a boost at the free throw line. The Jackrabbits were 17-for-23 (73.9%) at the charity stripe, while the Roos were 11 of 13. The Jackrabbits have won 17 of the last 19 meetings against the Roos. UP NEXTThe Jackrabbits return to Brookings to host South Dakota on Saturday. The Interstate Series, presented by First Interstate Bank, matchup against the Coyotes is slated for 5 p.m. in First Bank & Trust Arena.