February 25, 2021

MAYVILLE, N.D. – Fifth-seeded Dakota State (S.D.) continued its Cinderella run in the North Star Athletic Association men's basketball postseason semifinals round, shocking the top-seeded Mayville State (N.D.) in a thrilling victory by the score of 66-65 Thursday evening at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse.  The Trojans halted the Comets' attempt for their fourth straight NSAA tournament's championship game.

Dakota State improved to 11-14 overall record, advancing to the NSAA postseason tournament's championship game for the first time since 2015-16 season.

Mayville State wrapped up their season with an overall record of 14-5.  The Trojans defeated the Comets on Lewy Lee Fieldhouse for the second time this season (defeated at MSU 72-60 on Jan. 17).

Since the North Star Athletic Association was formed in 2013-14, Dakota State moves on to 3-0 record versus Mayville State in the NSAA postseason tournament's semifinal round.

The Trojans stay on the road as they prepare for the conference championship game on Saturday evening.  DSU takes on No. 2 seed Bellevue (Neb.) (18-13 overall record), who used a second-half surge to defeat No. 3 seed Valley City State (N.D.) 73-63 Thursday evening in Bellevue.

Tip-off for the North Star Athletic Association men's basketball championship game is set for 5 p.m. at Gordon Lozier Center in Bellevue.

Dakota State (S.D.) 66, Mayville State (N.D.) 65 – FINAL

• Dakota State rushed to a 10-2 lead to kick off the game, propelled by their 5-of-6 field goals from three different scorers (Ronnie Latting, Jordan Lynn, Gairges Daow).
• Mayville State trimmed DSU's lead to 10-8 after a field goal by Winder Joseph with 14:43 left in the first half.
• The Trojans maintained their lead between three- and nine-points for the majority of the first half.
• A 3-pointer by MSU's Keiron Goodwin (assisted by Latrelle Franklin) trimmed DSU's lead to 26-22 with 5:24 to go before halftime.
• Dakota State then went on an 8-0 outburst, capping off with a pair of free-throws by Lynn for a 34-22 lead with 1:20 left in first.
• Goodwin drained a 3-pointer as Mayville State cut Dakota State's lead to 34-25 with less than a minute before halftime.
• The Trojans shot 46.7 percent from the field in the first half (14-of-30 field goals) and held the Comets to 31.3 percent field goal shooting (10-of-32 field goals).
• Iker Cruz started the second half with a basket (assisted by Xavier Towne) as the Comets trailed 34-27 with 19:47 on the clock.
• Lynn hit back-to-back 3-pointers as Dakota State gained its biggest lead of the game at 40-27 with 18:05 to go in the game.
• Mayville State went on a 11-0 scoring surge, fueling with a 4-of-5 field goals during the run.  Joseph hit a basket with 15:34 left as the Comets trimmed Trojans' lead to 40-38.
• The game was closely tight for the remainder of the second half, with five ties and six lead changes.  Knotted at 50-50, the Comets scored five straight points to stretch their lead to 55-50 after Goodwin's basket with 5:30 remaining.
• Trailing 59-56, Daow hit back-to-back baskets as the Trojans regained their lead to 60-59 with 2:24 left.
• Both teams traded lead four times for nearly two minutes.  Down 63-62, Gavin Schipper drained a 3-pointer as the Trojans grabbed a 65-63 lead with 17.1 seconds remaining.
• On the ensuing possession, John Ketchel missed a shot for the Comets and was rebounded by his teammate Towne.  Towne made the second chance points to tie the game at 65-65 and was fouled by the Trojans, attempting for a 3-point play with 6.9 seconds left.
• Towne missed the free-throw for MSU and was rebounded by Cole Bruhn.  The Trojans called a timeout with 4.2 seconds remaining.
• The Comets committed a foul on the Trojans with 1.5 seconds left, however, it was not a bonus situation for DSU as they called a timeout on their frontcourt on the opposite side.
• Trojan Daow caught the ball inbounds, attempted for a 3-point shot and was fouled by MSU with .4 seconds left.  Daow missed the first free-throw and made the second free-throw to give DSU a 66-65 lead.  Daow missed the third free-throw and was rebounded by Joseph.  The Comets called a timeout with .1 second remaining.
• MSU failed the final possession as DSU secured a thrilling victory.
• Mayville State outscored Dakota State 40-32 in the final twenty minutes of the game.  MSU shot 16-of-33 field goals (48.5 percent) compared to DSU 14-of-30 field goals (46.7 percent).
• Five players scored in double figures for the Trojans, led by Daow with 13 points (6-of-12 field goals).  Lynn added 12 points (4-of-6 field goals).  Latting and Schipper each tallied 11 points.  Lamarr Wood scored 10 points off the bench.
• Daow, Lynn and Wood each collected six rebounds for DSU.  Schipper added five rebounds.  Gare Ewefada scored seven points and dished out two assists.
• Goodwin led the Comets with 15 points (6-of-9 field goals).  Thomas Gieske added 14 points off the bench.  Towne had eight points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.  Joseph scored eight points, collected five rebounds, and recorded three blocks.
• Dakota State shot 46.7 percent overall from the field (28-of-60 field goals) and held Mayville State to 40 percent (26-of-65 field goals).  DSU was 5-of-13 3-pointers, while MSU was 4-of-19 from the 3-point arc.
• Both teams struggled at the free-throw line, with DSU making 5-of-13 free-throws (38.5 percent) and MSU converting 9-of-18 free-throws (50 percent). 
• The Trojans outscored the Comets 8-5 in points off turnovers.  Mayville State outscored Dakota State 13-3 in second chance points and 28-12 in bench points.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director