Trojans Senior Night in the DSU Fieldhouse to Conclude the Regular Season: Game Preview – Dakota State vs Dickinson State

The Dakota State Men’s Basketball team (16-11 overall, 6-5 NSAA) is looking to make it back-to-back wins to round out their regular season as they take on the Dickinson State Blue Hawks.

Dakota State’s hopes of a North Star Athletic Association title remain alive with Mayville State dropping last night’s game against Viterbo on the road. With the results from last night’s game, the Trojans are guaranteed to not be on the road in the first round and can’t finish worse than fourth in the NSAA.

It is also Senior Night in the DSU Fieldhouse tonight as Dakota State will celebrate its four seniors – Uzo Dibiamaka, Japjit Gill, Uhana Ochan and Taylor Edwards. This group is part of Trojan history winning their eight-game win streak earlier this year that tied the school record for consecutive wins (8).

Dickinson State

The Blue Hawks (14-12 overall, 5-6 NSAA) dropped their most recent outing and have fallen out of the conference title race. Though they would certainly like to end their regular season on a winning note.

Dickinson State has yet to win on the road in the month of February, dropping both road contests. They’ve also dropped three of their last five games as they have sputtered at the end of the regular season. They don’t fare very well on the road in general with just a 3-6 record in road games on the year.

Leading the way in scoring for the Blue Hawks is Trey Stevens with 14.9 points per game on 40.5% from the field. Followed by John Evans with 12 per game and Kose Egbule with 11.5 a game. They average just 70.5 points per game in conference which ranks sixth and allow 72.2 a game which ranks third in the NSAA.

Dakota State

The Trojans got back in the win column and hope to remain there for the foreseeable future. A win is the only way they can remain in the fight for the NSAA title, yet it’s no guarantee yet and still. Everything has to go right for the Trojans to see a three way tie for first place. It’ll take a Mayville State and Bellevue loss plus a Trojan win to secure being tied for first.

They notched their second highest scoring total of the year with 95 points in the win. It was the first time since the home matchup against MSU that the Trojans have shot 40% or better from the field and from three. They are 4-1 in conference when they shoot those numbers or better. The lone loss came in the NSAA opener against Bellevue on Jan. 6.

Mison Coilton leads the way in scoring for the Trojans with 14.4 points per game and coming off another 20-point outing. This time, he scored it off the bench for DSU. Followed by Emmanuel Akpan with 10.2 a game. The Trojans scoring average in conference is now 73.7 which ranks fourth today after ranking sixth yesterday at just 71.6 per game. Defensively, they allow just 72 per game in conference which is second in the NSAA.

Tipoff is set for 5pm with the pregame beginning at approximately 4:45pm (pending the senior activities) on Jammin Country 103.