February 5, 2024

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (Feb. 5, 2024)—The Dakota State University Trojan men's basketball team (15-9 overall record, 5-3 North Star Athletic Association record) prepares for a key North Star conference match-ups this week, facing a pair of teams that are currently tied for first place with the Trojans with 5-3 conference mark each.

DSU hosts Bellevue (Neb.) (10-14 overall record, 5-3 NSAA conference record) in a battle of traveling teams during a mid-week contest.  Tip-off from the DSU Fieldhouse is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evening.

Dakota State plays their final North Star road regular-season contest of the season on Friday evening.  The Trojans visit Mayville State (N.D.) (17-6 overall record, 5-3 NSAA conference record) with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse (330 3rd Street NE)  in Mayville, N.D.

DSU dropped a pair of North Star conference road contests to start the second half portion of the conference schedule.  The Trojans lost to Viterbo (Wis.) 92-70 on Feb. 2, followed by a 77-64 setback to Waldorf (Iowa) on Feb. 3.   

Bellevue split their pair of NSAA road contests, falling to Waldorf 62-58 on Feb. 2 and defeating Viterbo 58-49 on Feb. 3.  Mayville State earned a pair of home conference victories last weekend, edging Valley City State (N.D.) 86-84 on Feb. 2 and Dickinson State (N.D.) 87-74 on Feb. 3.

All North Star Athletic Association members have four games remaining on their regular-season schedule.

Up Next:  Dakota State wraps up their regular-season schedule next weekend at home, hosting Valley City State (N.D.) on Feb. 16 and Dickinson State (N.D.) on Feb. 17.  Both games will be held at DSU Fieldhouse. 

This Week's Quick Hits
+ Dakota State (S.D.) have three home games remaining on their regular-season schedule, where they are 7-1 record at DSU Fieldhouse.  The only setback of the season was to (RV) Hastings (Neb.) on Dec. 16 by the score of 72-67.
+ Bellevue (Neb.) is 1-7 record on the road this season, with the first road victory of the season at Viterbo (Wis.) on Feb. 3.  Mayville State (N.D.) is 12-1 record at home, with their only home setback to Jamestown (N.D.) 69-66 on Nov. 8.
+ Dakota State fell short to Bellevue in the first NSAA conference meeting this season by the score of 69-68, despite DSU's game-winning tip-off off from the offensive rebound waved off when time expired.
+ The Trojans defeated the Bruins in the last home meeting on Feb. 16, 2023, by the score of 69-59.
+ DSU defeated Mayville State in the first NSAA meeting this season on Jan. 26, 2024 by the score of 84-79.  The Trojans are seeking for their first win at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse since Feb. 23, 2022, when DSU defeated MSU 74-68 in the NSAA quarterfinals of the postseason conference tournament.
+ Dakota State and Mayville State are 13-13 record in the last 26 meetings since Jan. 29, 2014.
+ The Trojans had secured a home court winning record for the second straight season, matching last year's total home victories with seven wins (7-6 home court record in 2022-23). 
+ Dakota State is averaging 85.7 points per game during their North Star Athletic Association home contests at DSU Fieldhouse.  The Trojans posted the NSAA season-high 94 points in their 94-71 victory over Viterbo (Wis.) on Jan. 19.
 
Noteworthy...
HOME COOKING:  Dakota State (S.D.) is 7-1 record at home this season, matching last year's home court wins total (7-6 home record in 2022-23).  DSU is 3-0 record at home during North Star conference action, defeating Viterbo (Wis.), Waldorf (Iowa), and Mayville State (N.D.).  The Trojans' lone home setback was against (RV) Hastings (Neb.) on Dec. 16 by the score of 72-67.  DSU is averaging 84.3 points per game on their home court, scoring a season-high 103 points against Providence (Manitoba) on Nov. 5.

TROJANS IN THE NSAA CONFERENCE TEAM RANKS:   According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Monday prior to this week's conference contests, Dakota State is third in the league in both scoring offense with 74.9 points per game and scoring defense with 72.4 points per game.  The Trojans are second in the league in field goal percentage (45.6 percent) and leads the conference in free-throw percentage (70.4 percent).

DSU IN THE NSAA CONFERENCE LEADERS:  Mison Coilton is fourth in the North Star conference with 16.8 points per game during the conference season.  He is also fifth in the league in field goal percentage (53.5 percent—54-of-101 field goals) and sixth in rebounds per game (7.0 rebounds per game).  Emmanuel Akpan is seventh with 6.1 rebounds per game in the league.  Coilton ranks second in the North Star with 1.8 steals per game, while Josh Lewis is tied for seventh with 1.1 steals per game.
 
2023-24 DSU DEVELOPMENTAL TEAM SEASON UPDATES:  The Dakota State University Trojan men's basketball developmental team closed their home schedule with an 84-72 setback to Northwestern (Iowa) at DSU Fieldhouse on Jan. 29.  The Trojans, who hold an overall record of 5-5, concludes their 2023-24 schedule with a contest at Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Monday in Mitchell.

Viterbo (Wis.) earns NSAA season series split with DSU
La Crosse, Wis. (Feb. 2, 2024)—Viterbo (Wis.) shot a sizzling 61.4 percent overall from the field to snap Dakota State's (S.D.) five-game winning streak at R.W. Beggs Gymnasium.  The V-Hawks won by the score of 92-70 in their final ever North Star conference regular-season meeting.

Dakota State and Viterbo traded leads in the opening minutes of the game.  The V-Hawks then went on a 14-5 scoring surge to grab a 20-11 lead and never trailed in the game.  The V-Hawks led 52-39 by halftime.  The Trojans could get no closer than seven points at 54-47 with 17:09 remaining, as VU secured the victory by holding a double digit lead for the rest of the game.

Mison Coilton led Dakota State with 19 points and five rebounds.  He was 7-of-9 from the field and hit 5-of-8 free-throws.  Brayden Pankonen added 14 points (5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-6 3-pointers).  Emmanuel Akpan scored 12 points and pulled down five rebounds.  Josh Lewis scored nine points off the bench. 

Viterbo shot 35-of-57 from the field and 9-of-15 from the 3-point line.  Dakota State was 50.9 percent from the field (28-of-55 field goals) and 4-of-20 from the 3-point arc.  The Trojans edged the V-Hawks in rebounding (28-27).  VU outscored DSU 21-5 in points off turnovers and 31-17 in bench points.  Dakota State outscored Viterbo 46-36 inside the paint.

Warriors hand Trojans second straight NSAA loss
Madison, S.D. (Feb. 3, 2024)—Dakota State (S.D.) could not get back on the winning track at Hanson Fieldhouse, falling to Waldorf (Iowa) by the score of 77-64 in the North Star Athletic Association action.  The Trojans were held to 39.1 percent field goal shooting in both teams' final ever North Star conference regular-season meeting.

Both teams traded leads in the first four-and-half minutes of the game.  Knotted at 21-21, the Warriors went on to score nine straight points to earn a 30-21 lead.  WU held on to lead 34-29 by halftime.  Dakota State could get no closer than one point at 55-54 in the second half, despite both teams scoring scoreless for two-plus minutes.  WU held DSU to four points in the final 4:23 of the game to secure the victory.

Japjit Gill led DS Uwith 15 points on his 6-of-9 field goals.  Mison Coilton added 12 points and stole the ball four times.  Uzo Dibiamaka tallied 10 points and three rebounds.  Emmanuel Akpan, Josh Lewis, and Uhana Ochan each had seven points. 

Dakota State was 25-of-64 from the field and 3-of-17 from the 3-point arc.  Waldorf shot 46.8 percent (29-of-62 field goals) and 9-of-20 3-pointers.  WU outrebounded DSU 40-21, outscoring 10-0 in second chance.

A look at log-jammed North Star standings
Madison, S.D. (Feb. 5, 2024)—Three teams are tied for first place in the log-jammed North Star Athletic Association Men's Basketball conference standings.  Bellevue (Neb.), Dakota State (S.D.), and Mayville State (N.D.) are tied for first place in the standings with 5-3 record each.

Waldorf (Iowa) and Dickinson State (N.D.) are tied for fourth with 4-4 record each in the league.  Viterbo (Wis.) is sixth with 3-5 record, followed by Valley City State (N.D.) seventh with 2-6 conference record.

Each North Star Athletic Association member have four conference contests remaining on their regular-season schedule.  The Trojans have three games remaining at DSU Fieldhouse, wrapping up their regular-season schedule versus VCSU on Feb. 16 and DiSU on Feb. 17.

The North Star postseason tournament begins with opening round on Feb. 21 (with top seed receiving a bye), followed by semifinals on Feb. 25, and the championship game on Sunday, March 3.

2023-24 Dakota State Men's Basketball Team Leaders

• Points/Points Per Game:  Mison Coilton - 337 points (14.0 points per game)
• Field Goal Percentage:  Emmanuel Akpan - 53.3 percent (89-of-167 field goals)
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage:  Uzo Dibiamaka - 40.4 percent (19-of-47 3-point field goals)
• Free-Throw Percentage:  Brayden Pankonen - 82.0 percent (41-of-50 free-throws)
• Rebounds:  Emmanuel Akpan - 183 rebounds (7.6 rebounds per game)
• Assists/Assists Per Game:  Japjit Gill - 72 assists (3.0 assists per game)
• Steals/Steals Per Game:  Brayden Pankonen - 36 steals (1.5 steals per game)
• Blocked Shots:  Emmanuel Akpan - 16 blocks (0.7 blocks per game)