Trojans Roll Past the Lions; Continue Winning Ways over Trinity Bible, 82-56
The Dakota State Trojans Men’s Basketball team has made it nine in a row now after defeating Trinity Bible, 82-56 in the DSU Fieldhouse.
The Trojans remain undefeated against the Lions, increasing their record to 13-0 all-time vs Trinity Bible. DSU is now 9-3 overall on the year. They have now scored 80+ on Trinity Bible in their last four meetings. They have also tied the 2015-2016 team for the program record for consecutive wins with nine.
Dakota State came out of the gates slowly and allowed a 5-0 start by the Lions. Which ended up being the largest lead of the game for the Lions. Once the Trojans took the lead and shots began to fall, they never looked back. The Trojans only shot 40.5% from the field and 22.9% from three. Though not all the shots fell, they came away with the win and locked down the Lions leading scorers.
The starting backcourt of Marcellus Mencarini and Quincy Wilson, came into the game averaging a combined 41.4 points per game for the Lions. They were held to just 20 points combined – scoring 10 each. They shot a combined 7-for-39 (17.9%) from the field and 3-for-25 (12%) from deep. Various Trojans defended these two and everyone held their own against these two scorers.
The Trojan defense held the Lions to just 29.7% from the field and 16.7% from deep. Considerably lower marks than they typically hold teams to so far this year. Even with some time off, the Trojans were able to maintain their winning ways. They continue to get better each time out. Far and away a different team than what started the year.
Every Trojan that logged at least 15 minutes played in the game came away with at least one steal. They also dominated the points in the paint against Trinity Bible, coming out on top 48-24 in that department.
DSU was led in scoring by its leading scorer on the year, freshman Brayden Pankonen. Pankonen finished with 19 points, added five assists, four rebounds, three steals and four 3-pointers made. He did a little bit of everything. He was one of five Trojans who scored in double figures in the game. Others in double digits include: Kenny Haynes (14), Mison Coilton (11), Emmanuel Akpan (11) and Josh Lewis (10).
The Trojans also had their third straight game with 50+ rebounds. In this game, Trojans had their fifth game with a positive assist/turnover ratio. All five resulted in wins.
With the win, Dakota State is already just three wins shy of their win total from last year when they went 12-17 overall.
Next Matchup
Next, the Trojans are back in action tonight as they travel to Mount Marty to face the Lancers and stretch their winning streak to 10 games. Also in this game today, head coach Darren Tighe will log his 150th career win of his career if the Trojans come out on top. DSU will tipoff against the Lancers at 7:45pm tonight in Yankton, SD.
