Trojans Step into Hostile Environment Looking to End Current Skid: Game Preview – Dakota State vs (RV) Mayville State
The Trojan Men’s Basketball team (15-10 overall, 9-0 NSAA) will compete in their last road game of North Star Athletic Association play against the (RV) Mayville State Comets.
Mayville State
The Comets (17-6 overall, 5-3 NSAA) have sputtered in the midst of conference play. They’ve dropped three of their last five games, all losses being on the road. Of their five conference wins, only one is on the road.
The matchup with the Trojans will be the third game in a four-game homestand for the Comets. They’ve managed to win their last two outings, but not without a scare in the midst of it. They snuck past Valley City State by just two points last Friday and got revenge against the Dickinson State Blue Hawks Saturday.
This group has become less disciplined on the court since its initial loss in conference to DiSU. They’ve still managed to score the ball, but not as effectively. The field goal percentage is still around 50%, but their 3-pt shooting is at the bottom of the conference. They shoot just 31.9% from beyond the arc through eight conference games
Thomas Gieske leads the Comets in scoring with 17.4 points per game on a strong 63.6% from the field. Following him scoring is Darren Jones, who was most recently named the NSAA Player-of-the-Week in the NSAA, with 15.9 a game in 10 games. Jamison Kramer also averages double digits with 15.8 points.
Dakota State
Dakota State comes into the game looking to regain their footing. DSU has dropped three straight for the third time this season and first in conference. This comes on the heels of what seemed like some of their better basketball. Ever since defeating these Comets, they’ve let things slip a bit.
The Trojans are coming off a game in which they made a season-low 18 field goals. They also tied a season-low in field goal percentage at 33.3%, which they also had in their third game of the year against Dordt. Last game was the Trojans first time snatching double digits steals since Nov. 28 when they visited Mount Marty. Along with their season-low in point scored with just 53 in the DSU Fieldhouse on Wednesday.
Coilton leads DSU in scoring at 14 points per game, followed by Emmanuel Akpan with 10 a game. The Trojans scored 73.9 points per game on the season and just 72.4 in conference play which ranks 5th in the NSAA.
Tipoff is set for 7:30pm following the women’s game in the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse with pregame at approximately 7:15pm on Jammin Country 103.
