November 4, 2023

Photos credit by Mike Black

MADISON, S.D. – The Dakota State University Trojan men's basketball team played their third game in four days Saturday evening, hosting Providence (Manitoba) in the home opener at DSU Fieldhouse.  The Trojans erased a nine-point deficit in the second half, rallying back for a 90-83 victory over the Pilots to extend the winning streak to two games.

Dakota State improved to 2-3 overall record.  Providence was playing an exhibition contest, remaining at 0-2 overall record.

Both teams will play again on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.

Dakota State (S.D.) 90, Providence (Manitoba) 83 – FINAL

Dakota State sparked a 7-0 opening game run from three different scorers in the first one minute, 25 seconds – basket inside the paint by Mison Coilton, a 3-pointer by Brayden Pankonen, and an inside basket by Emmanuel Akpan.

The Trojans ballooned their lead to 15-5 for the first double digit of the game with 16:37 on the clock, thanks to a 3-pointer from Pankonen (assisted by Ethan Slaathaug).

Providence trimmed Dakota State's lead down to 22-19 after a 3-pointer by Riley Paul with 10:25 to go in the first half.  The Trojans maintained their lead between 3- and seven-points for the next seven-plus minutes. 

Uhana Ochan hit a basket with less than four minutes to go in the first half for Dakota State's 39-32 lead. 

The Pilots stormed back by closing the first half with a 13-1 outburst in the final 3:42 to earn a 45-40 halftime lead.

PU shot 54.5 percent from the field (18-of-33 field goals) in the first twenty minutes of the game.  DSU shot 38.1 percent from the field (16-of-42 field goals) in the first half.

Providence sparked the second half opening run with three straight baskets to widen their lead to 51-42 with 18:08 remaining.

Trailing 56-47, the Trojans rallied back with a 13-4 scoring run to record the second tie of the game at 60-60 after a free-throw by Ochan.

After falling behind at 68-64, Dakota State erupted for a 22-8 outburst to regain their double-digit lead at 86-76 with a pair of free-throws by Kenny Haynes with less than three minutes to go.

Providence could get no closer than seven points at 90-83 after a 3-pointer from Blake Garing as the Trojans secured the victory.

DSU outscored PU 50-38 in the final twenty minutes of the game, thanks to 54.8 percent shooting from the field (17-of-31 field goals).  The Pilots shot 43.3 percent from the field in the second half (13-of-30 field goals).

Coilton led the Trojans with 18 points on his 7-of-12 field goals.  He grabbed eight rebounds.  Ochan produced a double-double of 14 points (6-of-9 field goals) and collected 10 rebounds. Pankonen scored 17 points (6-of-12 field goals, including 5-of-11 from the 3-point arc), contributed three assists, and stole the ball three times.  Haynes had 12 points and three steals.

Japjit Gill tallied nine points and dished out six assists for DSU.  Akpan had eight points and pulled down 10 rebounds.  Josh Lewis scored seven points off the bench.

Paul led the Pilots with 26 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.  He was 9-of-14 from the field.  He had five assists.  Emmauel Oleko added 21 points (10-of-14 field goals) and nine rebounds.  He stole the ball three times.  Garing tallied 11 points off the bench.  Kevin Martinez scored nine points and dished out eight assists.

Dakota State shot 45.2 percent overall from the field (33-of-73 field goals) compared to Providence 49.2 percent (31-of-63 field goals).  The Trojans hit 11 3-pointers in 31 tries (35.5 percent), while the Pilots were 9-of-27 3-pointers (33.3 percent). 

DSU hit 13-of-20 free-throws compared to PU 12-of-16 free-throws. 

Dakota State outrebounded Providence 45-34, including 17-7 on the offensive boards.

The Trojans outscored the Pilots 44-36 inside the paint, and 33-19 in bench points.