Trojans Weekend Games Decided in Final Minute

The Dakota State Men’s Basketball team hit the road this weekend and played in two games that were decided in the final minute. The Trojans lost their first game at Mayville State 84-80 before getting a 69-67 win against Presentation.

In the first game of the weekend, the Trojans and Comets battled back and forth with no lead feeling safe for either side. The two teams went on multiple scoring runs, but Mayville State closed out the first half going on a 14-0 run to take a 41-35 lead into the half.

After the Comets got out to a 56-45 lead, the Trojans began to storm back, scoring 13 straight points to regain the lead at 58-56. For the rest of the game neither team led by more than five points. 

In the final minute, Sam Muller hit a layup to tie the game at 80-80, but after the Comets answered with another score to get to 82-80, the Trojans turned the ball over and committed two fouls to give the Comets the 84-80 lead with 18 seconds left to give MSU the victory. 

Deshawn Kelly paced the Trojans with 20 points and added five rebounds.Ronnie Latting added 15 points and four rebounds. Both Kelly and Latting were fouled out.

Muller and Ben Hoverson each tallied 10 points for the Trojans. Muller dished out four assists. Ethan Damerum added nine points and five assists off the bench. Chris Morales had seven points and four rebounds. 

Sebastian Griffin had 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds for MSU. 

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The second game of the weekend for DSU was another close contest against Presentation.

The Trojans got out to the early lead at 9-2 in the first five minutes of the game, which would end up being the largest lead for either team in the game. Trojans led 34-29 at the half. 

Presentation opened up the second half scoring the first five points in the half to tie the game at 34-34, though the Trojans answered with four more points to regain the lead.

The Saints didn’t get their first lead of the game until about six minutes into the second half, but both teams would continue to trade leads for the remainder of the game, with no team leading by more than four points. 

In the final minute, both teams traded fouls and free throws, and after Presentation’s Travez Nyx drained a 3-pointer with less than seven seconds to go, DSU only led by one at 68-67. The Saints then fouled Ethan Slaathaug in the final seconds, and Slaathaug’s one free-throw made helped to secure the victory for the Trojans, as the Saints couldn’t score at the buzzer, giving DSU the 68-67 road win. 

A pair DSU players posted double-doubles in the game, led by Latting with 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Muller added 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Kelly scored 13 points and collected eight rebounds. Morales and Hoverson each tallied seven points for DSU. 

Nyx led the Saints with 22 points after only scoring five points in the first half.

The Trojans left the weekend slate of games with an 8-11 record, and 2-3 in the NSAA. DSU will stay on the road this upcoming weekend with trips to Viterbo on Friday, January 20th and Waldorf on Saturday, January 21st.

Fridays game will tip off at 7pm and Saturday will start at 5pm. Both games can be heard on FM 103.1 or online at AmazingMadison.com.