October 22, 2021

MADISON, S.D. – Midland (Neb.) raced to a 13-point opening lead Friday evening on the first day of the Dakota State (S.D.) men's basketball tournament at DSU Fieldhouse.  The Trojans rallied back to knot the game in the second half, but the Warriors pulled away late with a 20-9 closing run in the final 5:19 to earn a 73-62 victory.

It was the season opening game for Dakota State.  Midland remained undefeated with a 3-0 record. 

Doane (Neb.) defeated Presentation (S.D.) 66-55 in the first game of the DSU men's basketball tournament.

Dakota State seeks for their first win of the season as they face Doane (Neb.) in the second game of the tournament Saturday.  Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.  Midland and Presentation face off in the 5:30 p.m. contest Saturday.

Midland (Neb.) 73, Dakota State (S.D.) 62 – FINAL

• Midland raced to an 8-0 opening lead in the first three minutes of the game, capped by a 3-pointer by Colton Uhing.  The Trojans ended their scoring drought with a basket by Lamarr Wood (assisted by Jordan Lynn) with 15:45 on the clock (DSU trailed 8-2).
• Laurence Merritt made a basket inside the paint to give Warriors its biggest lead of the game at 15-2 with 14:25 left in the first half.
• Trailing 21-13, Jaxon Simons scored three straight points followed by a basket by Ronnie Latting to spark DSU's 5-0 scoring run.  Midland was forced to call a timeout as Dakota State trimmed their lead to 21-18 with 8:20 to go before halftime.
• Merritt drained a 3-pointer as the Warriors regained their lead to 30-20 with less than 30 seconds left in the first half.
• Ethan Slaathaug answered with a 3-pointer as the first half buzzer sounded as DSU trailed 30-23.
• Both teams shot below 40 percent from the field in the first twenty minutes.  MU was 10-fo-26 field goals (38.5 percent) compared to DSU 8-of-24 field goals (33.3 percent).  Midland was 5-of-10 from the free-throw line, while Dakota State struggled by going 5-of-13 from the free-throw line.
• Down 39-29, the Trojans mounted a comeback by scoring 10 straight points, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers by Maxwell Nielson to knot the game at 39-39.  MU was forced to call a time out with 13:15 to go in the game.
• Both teams went through five more ties for nearly eight minutes before the Warriors pulled away late.
• Leading 58-55, Midland went on a 10-3 scoring spurt to regain their double-digit lead at 68-58 after a 3-pointer by Ryan Larsen with 1:17 remaining.
• Midland outscored Dakota State 43-39 in the second half to secure the victory.  MU was 63.2 percent from the field (12-of-19 field goals) in the final twenty minutes compared to DSU 44.8 percent (13-of-29 field goals).
• Simons led the Trojans' offense attack with 20 points.  He was 5-of-10 from the field and 8-of-11 from the free-throw line.  Latting posted a double-double of 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds off the bench.
• Lynn tallied nine points, eight rebounds, four assists, and stole the ball three times for DSU.  Wood registered two blocked shots.  Jade Burma added a blocked shot.  Nielson scored seven points. 
• Merritt scored 20 points for the Warriors.  He also dished out four assists.  Tyler Sandoval added 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds.  Bo Sandquest had 11 points and six rebounds.  Larsen and Emanuel Bryson each had eight points.
• Jake Rueschhoff contributed eight assists for Midland.  Uhing stole the ball two times.
• Midland was 48.9 percent overall from the field (22-of-45 field goals).  Dakota State shot 39.6 percent (21-of-53 field goals).  MU hit 9-of-23 3-pointers compared to DSU 7-of-19 3-pointers.
• The Warriors converted 20-of-28 free-throws (71.4 percent), including 15-of-18 in the second half.  The Trojans were 13-of-24 free-throws (54.2 percent).
• Midland outrebounded Dakota State 34-32.
• The Trojans outscored the Warriors 14-4 in points off turnovers, 6-0 in second chance points, and 24-18 in bench points.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director