November 4, 2018

Photos credit by Karen Giles

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Mount Marty (S.D.) erased Dakota State's biggest lead of the game early in the second-half Sunday afternoon on the second day of the South Dakota/NAIA Basketball Classic at Sanford Pentagon.  The Lancers held off the Trojans by the score of 78-75.

Dakota State fell to 0-4 overall record.  Mount Marty lifted their overall record to 2-3.

Justin Folkers kicked off the game by going 3-of-3 from the field in the first minute, giving the Trojans a 6-0 quick lead.

Both teams battled back-and-forth, with no lead bigger than five points in the first-half.  Trailing 34-32 with a minute to go, DSU scored its final five points to regain their lead.  Carson Rentz drained a 3-pointer to give Trojans a 35-34 lead with less than 40 seconds left. 

Folkers made a lay-up with just a second left in the first-half as DSU led 37-34 at halftime. 

Ironically, both teams were 13-of-32 from the field (40.6 percent) and 6-of-15 from the 3-point arc in the first twenty minutes of the game.  DSU had three more free-throws (5-of-5 free-throws) than MMC (2-of-4 free-throws).

After a layup by the Lancers to kick off the second-half (DSU led 37-36), the Trojans put together a 10-0 scoring outburst to produce the largest lead of the game at 47-36 with 17:49 remaining. 

Coming from the timeout, Mount Marty scored 11 straight points in a span of three-plus minutes to knot the game at 47-47 with 14:28 left.

Deadlocked at 55-55, the Lancers went on a 6-0 scoring run to open up a 63-57 lead with 6:48 on the clock. 

DSU's Brady Elder nailed down a pair of free-throws to trim MMC's lead to 77-75 with 12 seconds to go in the game.  After Jason Moore went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line for Lancers' 78-75 lead, Elder missed a 3-pointer with less than five seconds left in the game and was forced to foul with less than three seconds to go.

Ryan Papelbon missed both free-throws for Mount Marty and was rebounded by Folkers.  The Trojans missed a half-court shot that hit the rim when the buzzer ended, securing the victory for the Lancers.

MMC outscored DSU 44-38 in the second-half.  The Lancers shot 55.2 percent from the field (16-of-29) and went 8-of-16 free-throws in the final twenty minutes of the game.  The Trojans were 52 percent from the field (13-of-25), including 8-of-18 from the 3-point line.  DSU was 4-of-6 free-throws in the second-half.

Four Trojan players scored in double digits, led by Folkers with a double-double of 16 points and collected 11 rebounds.  He was 7-of-14 from the field.  Keeon Johnson (5-of-10 field goals) and Josh McGreal each added 13 points.  Rentz scored 11 points off the bench.  Elder and Anthony Costello each had eight points.  Cody Muilenburg had six points.

Elder dished out a career-high 10 assists for Dakota State.  He also grabbed six rebounds.  Johnson added five assists and a steal.  Folkers had a block.    

Moore scored 19 points and stole the ball three times off the bench for the Lancers (6-of-8 field goals, 6-of-13 free-throws).  Colby Johnson tallied 15 points.  Jailen Billings had 12 points. 

Jonah Larson led MMC with six rebounds.  Johnson had four assists.

Mount Marty shot 47.5 percent overall from the field (29-of-61) compared to Dakota State 45.6 percent (26-of-57).  The Trojans drained 14 3-pointers in 33 attempts (42.4 percent), while the Lancers were 10-of-25 from the 3-point line (40 percent).  MMC was 10-of-20 free-throws (50 percent).  DSU was 9-of-11 from the free-throw line (81.8 percent).

The Trojans had a slight rebounding edge over the Lancers (34-33).  MMC outscored DSU 34-16 inside the paint and 21-4 in points off turnovers. 

Dakota State plays its first home game of the season on Saturday.  The Trojans host Northwestern (Iowa) at DSU Fieldhouse.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director