December 17, 2017
MADISON, S.D. – After Dakota State (S.D.) jumped to a seven-point lead in the first-half Sunday afternoon at DSU Fieldhouse, Mayville State (N.D.) pulled away past the Trojans for an 89-79 North Star Athletic Association men's basketball conference victory. The Comets outrebounded the Trojans 42-26 in the game (14-6 on the offensive boards).
Dakota State suffered their third straight defeat, falling to 7-7 overall record and 2-2 record in league play. Mayville State raised their overall record to 8-4 and 4-1 record in North Star contests.
The Trojans opened the game with a 12-5 lead with 15 minutes, 36 seconds on the clock. The Comets would answer back with a 12-0 outburst to regain their lead at 15-12 with 12:40 left in the first-half. Justin Folkers hit a 3-pointer to snap DSU's scoring drought, tying the game at 15-15 with 12:24 remaining before intermission.
MSU maintained their lead between one- and six-point for the rest of the first-half. Kevin Daniels hit a lay-up just few ticks before the first-half expired. The Comets held a 41-37 halftime advantage.
Dakota State shot 48.6 percent from the field in the first twenty minutes of the game (17-of-35 field goals) compared to Mayville State 48.5 percent (16-of-33 field goals).
The Comets kicked off the second-half by making 3-of-3 field goals as part of their 7-0 run (pair of baskets by Eric Staebler and a 3-pointer by Taylor Delaughter), earning their first double-digit lead of the game at 48-37 with 18:38 left.
The Trojans answered back with a 5-0 run after a 3-pointer by Brendon Boomsma and a basket by Keeon Johnson, trimming MSU's lead to 48-42 with 17:40 to go.
Trailing 60-48, Dakota State went on a 20-10 scoring run to cut Comets' lead by two points at 70-68 with 7:28 remaining.
Mayville State then scored 11 straight points to pull away from the Trojans, ballooning MSU's lead to 81-68 with 3:03 left in the game.
The Comets outscored the Trojans 48-42 in the second-half. MSU shot 53.3 percent from the field (16-of-30) in the final twenty minutes of the game compared to DSU 53.1 percent (17-of-32 field goals).
Bobby Farquah scored 19 points off the bench on his 8-of-12 field goals and 3-of-3 free-throws for Dakota State. Folkers added 18 points (7-of-13 field goals). Daniels tallied 17 points. Maurice Arrington, Boomsma and Josh McGreal each scored six points.
Daniels dished out a game-high seven assists for the Trojans. Boomsma added five assists and stole the ball three times.
Farquah pulled down five rebounds for DSU. Folkers and Arrington each had four rebounds. Arrington had a blocked shot.
Five MSU players recorded double-figures scoring, led by Daniel Lindgren and Garek Droog who each had 17 points. Droog posted a double-double with 11 rebounds. Gorg Alhag added 15 points. Staebler and Creighton Pfau each had 10 points.
Staebler earned eight rebounds for the Comets. Michael Slaba added seven rebounds. Lindgren registered a block.
Daymarcco Green produced six assists for Mayville State. Alhag had three assists and two steals.
The Comets and Trojans both almost had similar field goal percentage, with MSU shooting 50.8 percent (32-of-63) compared to DSU shooting 50.7 percent (34-of-67). Mayville State was 8-of-22 from the 3-point arc (36.4 percent), while Dakota State was 5-of-18 3-pointers (27.8 percent).
MSU was 17-of-25 from the free-throw line (68 percent), with 12-of-18 free-throws coming in the second-half. DSU was near perfect from the free-throw line, making 6-of-7 free-throws (85.7 percent).
The Trojans outscored the Comets 18-11 in points off turnovers and 54-38 inside the paint. MSU outscored DSU 13-8 in second-chance points and 42-28 in bench points.
Dakota State takes a week off before returning back to action next week. The Trojans play a pair of games in the two-day Mike Miller Classic, starting on Friday, Dec. 29 versus Dordt (Iowa). The game is set for 12:30 p.m. at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, S.D. DSU also is slated to face the host-team No. 20-ranked Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 8 p.m.
Mayville State will be back in action Monday (tomorrow) evening versus Mount Marty (S.D.) in a non-conference action. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse in Mayville, N.D.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
