December 20, 2018

Photos credit by Karen Giles

MADISON, S.D. – Jamestown (N.D.) exploded with a 17-0 scoring surge for six-plus minutes in the second-half, pulling away past Dakota State (S.D.) 99-78 in men's basketball non-conference contest at DSU Fieldhouse.  The Jimmies had won eight times in the last nine games, including a 4-0 record in the last four games – all against members of the North Star Athletic Association conference members.

Dakota State fell to 4-11 overall record before heading to Christmas break.  Jamestown, a member of the Great Plains Athletic Conference who received votes in the latest NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, raised their overall record to 15-3.  DSU and UJ were former members of the Dakota Athletic Conference, Association of Independent Institutions and NSAA.

Three lead changes and one tie were recorded in the first three minutes of the game before UJ took control of the game.  The Jimmie kept their lead between 2- and 6-points for most of the first-half.

Leading 21-18, Kevin Oberweiser hit back-to-back 3-pointers to widen Jamestown's lead to 27-18 with 9:03 left in the first-half. 

Dakota State went 4-of-4 (including a 3-pointer by Josh McGreal and Carson Rentz) as part of their 13-6 scoring run.  A basket by McGreal trimmed DSU's deficit down to 33-31 with 6:32 left before intermission.

Jamestown had the biggest lead of the first-half after Oberweiser knocked down a pair of free-throws for a 48-36 lead with 1:16 on the clock.

The Trojans closed the first-half with a 4-0 run after a basket by Cody Muilenburg and Brady Van Holland, trailing 48-40 by halftime.

Both teams shot 50 percent from the field in the first twenty minutes of the game.  UJ was 15-of-30 from the field while DSU was 16-of-32 field goals.  UJ was 7-of-15 3-pointers and DSU 6-of-11 from the 3-point line.  The Jimmies nailed down 11-of-14 free-throws compared to the Trojans 2-of-2 free-throws.

Dakota State kicked off the second-half by going 3-of-4 from the field, fueling a 6-0 run (from three different scorers – Brady Elder, Muilenburg and Justin Folkers) to cut Jamestown's lead down to 48-46.  The Jimmies were forced to burn their timeout with 18:51 left in the game.

UJ regained their double-digit lead back at 71-59 with 12:39 remaining after a field goal by Jon Purintun. 

McGreal sparked the Trojans' 7-0 scoring run to cut Jimmies' lead to 71-66 with 11:06 left.

Dakota State was held scoreless for six minutes and ten seconds, propelling Jamestown to 17 consecutive points.  The Trojans missed 12 field goals during the scoring drought as the Jimmies ballooned their lead to 88-66 with 4:47 left in the game.

Van Holland ended DSU's scoring drought with a pair of free-throws with 4:28 on the clock (Trojans trailed 88-68).

Jamestown outscored Dakota State 51-38 in the final twenty minutes of the game.  UJ shot 52.6 percent from the field (20-of-38) and 9-of-22 from the 3-point arc.  DSU was 39.5 percent from the field (15-of-38) and 2-of-13 from the 3-point line.

Van Holland poured in a season-high 25 points off the bench for the Trojans.  He was 7-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-6 from the 3-point line.  He converted all team's eight free-throws.  McGreal added 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds.  Folkers tallied 15 points and registered two blocks.

Muilenburg produced five assists for DSU.  Rentz added four assists.  Elder had two steals.

Oberwesier scored a game-high 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Jimmies.  He was 10-of-17 from the field, including 6-of-13 from the 3-point line and made all four free-throw attempts.  Purintun added 19 points and dished out a game-high nine assists.  Terrell Alfred tallied 17 points off the bench (5-of-11 3-point field goals).

Brock Schrom posted a double-double of 15 points and collected 10 rebounds for UJ.  Purintun stole the ball three times. 

Jamestown shot 51.5 percent from the field (35-of-68) compared to Dakota State 44.3 percent (31-of-70).  The Jimmies drained 16 3-pointers in 37 attempts (43.2 percent), while the Trojans were 8-of-24 from the 3-point arc (33.3 percent). 

UJ was 13-of-16 free-throws in the game (81.3 percent).  DSU made all eight free-throws.

The Jimmies outrebounded the Trojans 41-32.  UJ outscored DSU 13-0 in fast-break points and 10-4 in points off turnovers.  The Trojans outscored the Jimmies 10-7 in second-chance points and 31-30 in bench points.

Dakota State is off until next weekend.  The Trojans look to swing back in the winning column as they play their final two non-conference game on their 2018-19 schedule in the two-day Doug Martin Classic, hosted by Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, S.D.  DSU play St. Mary (Kan.) on the first day of the classic on Saturday, Dec. 29 at 3 p.m. and Peru State (Neb.) on Sunday, Dec. 30 at 2 p.m.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director