SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Two previous meetings with South Dakota State this season indicated that Oakland University would probably have to score 100 points to advance past the Jackrabbits in the semifinals.

Sure enough, the Golden Grizzlies’ high-octane offense was in full force Monday night as the team defeated SDSU, 110-90, and scored the second-most points in a Summit League Tournament game in history.

A furiously-paced game saw Oakland (24-9) as the beneficiary. The Grizzlies jumped out to a 25-9 lead over the first seven minutes and maintained a lead of no fewer than nine points for the rest of the game.

“Obviously, we are pleased with the win,” OU coach Greg Kampe said. “I was concerned about playing a team as talented as the Jackrabbits in their home (state) in front of 6,000 people. We discussed before the game that we thought an early start could take (the crowd) out of it.”

Sophomore forward Drew Valentine turned in the biggest game of his career by leading the team in both points (24) and rebounds (11).

“Tonight I was just trying to be aggressive,” Valentine said. “I feel like I’m a big asset to my team when I’m aggressive offensively and defensively. I think I started off (well) when I got that steal and dunk (in the opening minute) and got into a rhythm.”

Valentine’s unexpected performance was reminiscent of Blake Cushingberry’s surprise 23-point contribution in the semifinals a year ago.

“I think that (SDSU’s) focus tonight was not on (Valentine) and we were able to exploit that,” Kampe said. “He got some good looks and some wide-open 3-pointers. Once he got it going, he really felt good about his game.”

All five of Oakland’s starters reached double figures in scoring, with junior Reggie Hamilton’s 20 points not far behind Valentine.

Hamilton also dished out eight assists and helped dictate the tempo of the game to OU’s liking.

“I think we did a great job with the tempo of the game,” Hamilton said. “The assist-to-turnover ratio was 22 to 4, so I think we did a great job of handling the pace.”

The Grizzlies expanded their lead to as many as 23 points early in the second half, thanks largely to consistent 3-point shooting. OU finished 12-for-21 from behind the arc, including four from freshman Travis Bader.

While he finished with 16 points, it was Bader’s defensive effort that drew praise from Kampe for limiting SDSU senior Clint Sargent.

“Travis Bader will never get the credit for this, but he just shut Sargent down,” Kampe said. “He’s one of the best players in the league, and I’m so glad we don’t ever have to see him again. Bader hounded him every shot and made everything tough. That was the focus of our defense to stop Sargent. (Nate) Wolters you can can do a lot of stuff with (defensively), but he’s going to get his (points).”

Wolters, a first team all-conference selection, finished with a typical 23 points, but it would have taken much more to defeat the Grizzlies.

“Basketball is a game of matchups,” SDSU coach Scott Nagy said. “If you saw last night, we match up great with IPFW, but we clearly don’t matchup with match up well with Oakland … We scored 90 points tonight and got beat by 20. That’s hard for me to swallow.”

With the victory, OU has advanced to its third-straight Summit League finals and for the fifth in seven years.

The Grizzlies will face the winner of the Oral Roberts-IUPUI game.

The conference title game tips off at 9 p.m. EST on Tuesday night with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.

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Follow @DanFenner on Twitter for updates and analysis throughout the tournament March 5-8.

Photos by Dave Eggen and Dick Carlson / Inertia