Trojans Split Weekend Home Stand

Over the weekend, the Dakota State men’s basketball team split their games, first beating Presentation before falling at home against Mayville State.

Though the Saints scored first, their lead was short lived as the Trojans went on a 5-0 scoring run to grab a 5-2 lead. Still in the lead, up 22-15, the Trojans went on another run, scoring seven unanswered points to lead 29-15.

DSU led by double-digits for the rest of the half, closing with Chris Morales’s third three-pointer to take a 45-31 halftime lead.

With the Trojans leading 53-47, Presentation was fueled by Travez Nyx, who scored eight straight points to bring the Saints back within single digits midway through the second half. However, for the rest of the game the closest the Saints would get was within nine points of the Trojans.

Another big scoring run from the Trojans left them in position to close out the game, going on a 13-4 run to help them produce their biggest lead of the game at 71-53. DSU went on to win 80-64 at home. 

Sam Muller poured in a season-high 28 points for Dakota State, and added five rebounds.  Morales tied for his career-high of 17 points on his 6-of-10 field goals, including 4-of-7 from the 3-point line. He also tied his career-high six assists. 

Ronnie Latting tallied 12 points and five rebounds for the Trojans. Deshawn Kelly recorded eight points and tied a career-high of 10 rebounds. Ethan Damerum posted season-highs of nine assists and five blocks for DSU. He also stole the ball twice and grabbed six rebounds.  

Nyx led the Saints with 16 points on his 8-of-14 field goals

Dakota State shot 32-of-64 from the field compared to Presentation 43.1 percent (25-of-58 field goals). The Trojans hit 8-of-20 3-pointers, while the Saints were 4-of-19 from the 3-point arc.

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In their second game of the weekend, the Trojans didn’t have the same success against Mayville State.

Both teams kept the game close early, with the two teams exchanging runs and leads. 

With the Comets up 12-6, the Trojans answered with three straight three-pointers to go on a 9-2 run, led by back-to-back three’s from Gavyn Strand, as the Trojans grabbed the 15-14 lead.

It was a closely tight contest for the rest of the first half, with the lead no greater than three points by both teams. There were a total of five ties and four lead changes in the first twenty minutes of the game, as the Comets took a two point lead, 39-37, into halftime.

With the game tied at 49-49, the Comets used multiple runs to extend their lead, starting with a five point run and then going on an eight point run to get up 62-51. 

From this point, the Trojans could get no closer than eight points of the Comets, as Mayville State exploded with a 16-2 outburst to close the game on their way to beating DSU 82-63.

Despite trailing by only two heading into halftime, the Trojans were outscored 43-26 in the second half. 

Morales tallied a career-high 18 points for the Trojans. He also had three assists and three rebounds. Strand added 11 points. Ben Hoverson scored 10 points off the bench. Latting had seven points.

Damerum scored six points off the bench for DSU. He dished out four assists, collected four rebounds, and stole the ball three times. Muller had five points and four rebounds. Kelly had four points, four rebounds, and two assists.

Thomas Gieske paced the Comets with a game-high 20 points on his 6-of-10 field goals and 8-of-10 free-throws. He also stole the ball three times. 

Mayville State shot a sizzling 57.4 percent overall from the field (31-of-54 field goals) compared to Dakota State 43.6 percent (24-of-55 field goals). 

MSU converted 16-of-22 from the free-throw line. DSU struggled at the free-throw line, going 7-of-17 free-throws. Mayville State outscored Dakota State 18-9 in points off turnovers, 48-32 inside the paint, and 40-18 in bench points.

Dakota State fell to 11-14 overall record and 5-6 NSAA conference record after splitting the weekend games. 

The Trojans look to bounce back in the winning column as they play their final North Star conference road trip next weekend. DSU visits Dickinson State on Friday at 8:30pm CT/7:30pm MT, before a trip to Valley City State on Saturday at 5pm.

Games next weekend can be heard on FM 103.1 or online at AmazingMadison.com.