January 19, 2018

ABERDEEN, S.D. – Presentation (S.D.) overcame Dakota State's (S.D.) hot first-half shooting Friday evening at Strode Center, rallying back for a 75-74 North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Men's Basketball conference thriller.  The Saints erased a 19-point lead by the Trojans in the first-half and outscored DSU 47-35 in the final twenty minutes.

Dakota State suffered their third straight defeat, falling to 9-13 overall record.  Presentation improved to 9-11 overall record.  Both DSU and PC are 3-6 record in the North Star conference contests.

The Trojans opened up with an 11-2 lead – with the first nine points coming from Justin Folkers – in the first four minutes and thirty-six seconds of the game, forcing the Saints to burn their first timeout.

DSU continued its hot shooting, widening to their biggest lead of the game at 29-10 after a 3-pointer by Folkers with 11:09 on the clock in the first-half.  The Trojans were 11-of-13 from the field (84.6 percent), while holding the Saints to 4-of-20 field goals (20 percent) in the first 8:51 of the game.

Presentation trimmed down their deficit into single digit at 37-28 with less than 50 seconds to go.

Josh McGreal made a basket just few seconds before halftime, giving Dakota State a 39-28 halftime advantage.  DSU shot a sizzling 54.8 percent from the field (17-of-31 field goals, including 5-of-10 3-pointers) compared to PC 29.4 field goal percentage (10-of-34 field goals and 3-of-9 3-pointers).

Folkers kicked off the second-half with a 3-pointer (assisted by Brady Elder) to give Trojans a 42-26 lead with 18:50 remaining.  The Saints then went to outscore the Trojans 15-4 to cut DSU's lead to 46-41 with 14:25 left.

With DSU leading 59-52, PC scored nine consecutive points to earn their first lead of the game at 61-58 with 8:11 left.  The Trojans would tie the game at 68-68 after a basket by Folkers with 3:09 remaining.

Presentation scored four straight points to take a 72-68 lead with 2:04 on the clock, but Brendon Boomsma drained a 3-pointer as DSU trailed 72-71 with 1:38 to go.

The Saints answered with a basket by Quadre Lollis for a 74-71 lead with 1:14 left.  The Trojans could not convert their scoring opportunities in a span of one minute as PC pulled away for the victory.  Saint Larry Johnson nailed down 1-of-2 free-throw with just few ticks before the buzzer (75-71 PC lead).

Boomsma added a 3-pointer as DSU trimmed PC's lead to 75-74, but fell short.

Presentation shot 51.5 percent from the field (17-of-33) in the second-half while Dakota State was 48.3 percent from the field (14-of-29).

Folkers poured in a game-high 27 points for the Trojans.  He was 10-of-16 from the field, 3-of-3 from the 3-point line and made all four free-throws.  McGreal scored 14 points off the bench (6-of-10 field goals).  Kevin Daniels had 11 points.  Keeon Johnson tallied 10 points off the bench.

Daniels and Bobby Farquah each pulled down four rebounds for DSU.  Folkers, Maurice Arrington and Johnson each had three rebounds.  Folkers and McGreal each registered a block.

Johnson dished out four assists and stole the ball three times for Dakota State.  Elder also had four assists and registered two steals.

Lollis led the Saints with 18 points (9-of-16 field goals).  Johnson added 12 points off the bench.  Mychal Deas had 11 points.  Adam White scored nine points.

Johnson grabbed nine rebounds for PC.  Deas had eight rebounds.  Deiontay Walters produced six assists.  Marcus Gatlin had five assists.

Dakota State shot 51.7 percent overall from the field (31-of-60) compared to Presentation 40.3 percent (27-of-67).  The Trojans were 8-of-17 from beyond the 3-point line (47.1 percent), while the Saints hit 7-of-20 3-pointers (35 percent).

PC was 14-of-23 from the free-throw line (60.9 percent).  DSU made all four free-throws.

The Saints outrebounded the Trojans 37-22 in the game.  PC outscored DSU 13-2 in second-chance points.

Dakota State looks to halt their losing skid as they play another North Star contest on the road Saturday evening.  The Trojans visit Jamestown (N.D.) with a 5 p.m. tip-off at Newman Arena.

Presentation stays home Saturday evening versus Valley City State (N.D.) at 5 p.m.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director