February 20, 2019
Photos credit by Karen Giles
ABERDEEN, S.D. – Second-seeded Presentation (S.D.) took advantage of second-chance points and points inside the paint as they held off seventh-seeded Dakota State (S.D.) 79-65 in the North Star Athletic Association Men's Basketball Postseason Tournament's opening round at Strode Center Wednesday. The Saints outscored the Trojans 17-2 in second-chance points and 58-38 inside the paint, despite DSU shooting 55.8 percent overall from the field.
Carson Rentz drained a 3-pointer to give DSU the first lead of the game at 3-0 with nineteen minutes and forty-one seconds on the clock. He added another 3-pointer to for 6-3 Trojans lead, followed by a basket by Justin Folkers to extend their lead to 8-3 with 17:39 left in the first-half.
Dakota State held their lead for the first seven minutes before Presentation went on a scoring run. With DSU leading 15-11, the Saints went on a 15-4 run to earn a 26-19 lead with 9:03 remaining in the first-half.
A basket by Ange-Michel Kuo give PC its biggest lead of the first-half at 36-27. Folkers answered back with a 3-pointer as DSU trailed 36-30 with 2:22 left before halftime.
The Saints led 38-32 at halftime. DSU shot a blazing 54.2 percent from the field (13-of-24), including 4-of-7 3-pointers in the first-half. PC was 47.2 percent from the field (17-of-36) and 1-of-8 from the 3-point arc.
A 3-pointer by Trojan Brady Van Holland cut Saints' lead to 44-43 with 15:46 remaining.
Leading 55-51, the Saints went on a 7-0 run to earn the first double-digit lead of the game at 62-51 after a 3-pointer by Elijah Coleman with 8:07 left.
The Trojans could not get any closer than seven points after a basket by Brady Elder, trailing 66-59 with 4:32 remaining.
PC outscored DSU 41-35 in the final twenty minutes. The Trojans shot a sizzling 57.1 percent from field (16-of-28) in the second-half compared to the Saints 51.5 percent (17-of-33).
Folkers concluded his stellar four-year career at Dakota State by going 11-of-16 from the field and poured in a game-high 25 points. He grabbed seven rebounds and recorded a block. Folkers finished as the eighth all-time scorer in DSU men's basketball history with 1,518 career points.
Josh McGreal (5-of-9 field goals) and Anthony Costello (6-of-9 field goals) each added 12 points. Elder, Van Holland and Rentz each scored six points. Elder and Van Holland each stole the ball twice.
Elder dished out a career-high 11 assists in the game for the Trojans. Van Holland also produced a season-high eight assists. Will Parry had two assists and a steal. Costello registered three blocks (season-high).
Quadre Lollis led the Saints with 22 points on his 11-of-17 field goal shooting. Jalen Guidry posted a double-double of 15 points and contributed 10 assists. He stole the ball six times. Vincent Eugene scored 10 points off the bench. Devonta Brooks and Mychal Deas each had eight points.
Deas pulled down eight rebounds for PC. Brooks, Lollis and Coleman each added five rebounds.
Presentation shot 34-of-69 from the field (49.3 percent). Dakota State was 29-of-52 from the field. The Trojans hit 6-of-15 3-pointers while the Saints were 4-of-19 3-pointers.
PC converted 7-of-10 free-throws compared to DSU 3-of-7 from the free-throw line.
The Saints outrebounded the Trojans 34-20, including 14-2 on the offensive boards.
Presentation outscored Dakota State 19-6 in points off turnovers and 10-0 in transition points.
PC, 21-9 overall record and receiving votes in the latest NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, moves on to the 'Final Four' weekend at Watertown Civic Arena in Watertown. The Saints face third-seeded and tournament's defending champion Mayville State (N.D.) Saturday evening at 8 p.m.
Dakota State concludes their season with an overall record of 9-22. It was the final career collegiate basketball game for Folkers.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
