October 26, 2023

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Thursday marked the official start of the 2023-24 NAIA Men's Basketball season.  Dakota State made their season debut under first year head coach Darren Tighe as they visited Briar Cliff (Iowa) of the Great Plains Athletic Conference at Newman Flanagan Center.  The Trojans could not overcome the Chargers' red-hot 63 field goal shooting percentage, falling by the score of 94-80.

DSU is 0-1 overall record, while BCU is 1-0 overall record.

Dakota State stays on the road Sunday afternoon as they visit another Great Plains Athletic Conference foe.  The Trojans take on longtime rival Dakota Wesleyan at the Corn Palace, tipping off at 3 p.m. in Mitchell, S.D.

Briar Cliff (Iowa) 94, Dakota State (S.D.) 80 – FINAL

Dakota State and Briar Cliff went through a closely tight contest through the first three-and-half minutes.  With BCU leading 11-10, DSU made three straight baskets as part of their 7-0 scoring run capped by Kenny Haynes' 3-pointer (assisted by Emmanuel Akpan) for 17-11 lead.  The Chargers were forced to burn their first timeout of the game with fourteen minutes and forty-seven minutes on the clock.

Matthew Stilwill capped Briar Cliff's 15-2 scoring outburst to regain their lead at 26-19 with 10:24 on the clock.  The Chargers expanded their scoring run to 26-6, ballooning their lead to 37-23 with 5:09 left before halftime after a basket by Stilwill.

DSU's Taylor Edwards made a basket inside the paint with less than 25 seconds left in the first half, trimming the Chargers' lead to 44-36 by halftime.

BCU shot 16-of-27 from the field (59.3 percent) in the first twenty minutes of the game.  DSU was 50 percent from the field in the first half (15-of-30 field goals).

Dakota State could get no closer than eight points early in the second half after Onias Outlaw's basket with 19:28 remaining (DSU trailed 46-38).

The Chargers posted their biggest lead of the game at 80-52 with eight minutes left after a 34-14 scoring run.  DSU closed the game with a 28-14 run to trim BCU's lead down to 14 points.

Briar Cliff outscored Dakota State 50-44 in the second half, thanks to their sizzling 66.7 percent shooting from the field (18-of-27 field goals).  The Trojans were 17-of-35 from the field in the final twenty minutes (48.6 percent).

Five Trojans players scored in double digits, led by Haynes with 15 points off the bench.  He was 5-of-7 from the field, including 3-of-4 from the 3-point arc.  Japjit Gill added 13 points on his 5-of-9 field goals.  Akpan had 12 points (6-of-9 field goals) and pulled down four rebounds. 

Mison Coilton had 12 points and four assists for Dakota State.  Ethan Slaathaug had 10 points (4-of-5 field goals).  He stole the ball four times.  Outlaw had nine points and five rebounds.  Calvin Payne tallied six points.  Edwards had a blocked shot.  Brayden Pankonen collected two steals.

BCU's Stilwill poured in a game-high 35 points on his 14-of-19 field goals, 3-of-5 from the 3-point arc and hit 4-of-5 free-throws.  He grabbed four rebounds, stole the ball two times, and registered a block.  Blake Sindelar added 11 points.  Jaden Huygens scored 10 points on his 5-of-6 field goals.  Tyrus Eischeid grabbed nine rebounds.

Briar Cliff shot 34-of-54 from the field and 6-of-16 3-pointers.  Dakota State was 49.2 percent overall from the field (32-of-65 field goals) and 3-of-15 3-pointers.  The Chargers hit 20 free-throws in 29 attempts, while the Trojans converted 13-of-18 free-throws. 

BCU outrebounded DSU 30-26.  The Trojans outscored the Chargers 10-7 in second chance points and 46-26 in bench points.  Briar Cliff scored 26 points off turnovers compared to Dakota State 13 points off turnovers.