February 26, 2025

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (Feb. 25, 2025)—The Dakota State University Trojan men's basketball team (11-16 overall record, 4-11 North Star Athletic Association record) begins their postseason action in the North Star Athletic Association Wednesday in the quarterfinals round.  The Trojans, who finished in a two-way tie for fifth place in the conference standings with Bellevue (Neb.), will be the No. 6 seed in the NSAA postseason tournament.

The Trojans head to Lewy Lee Fieldhouse (330 3rd Street NE) to take on third-seeded Mayville State (N.D.) (18-10 overall record, 9-6 NSAA conference record).  The game tips off at 7 p.m. in Mayville, N.D.  The winner of the game will move on to take on second-seeded Jamestown (N.D.) Saturday at 1 p.m. at Newman Arena in Jamestown, N.D., in the North Star postseason's semifinal action.

Dakota State closed their regular season schedule with a pair of setbacks against the top two teams in the North Star conference.  The Trojans fell short to Jamestown 86-77 on Feb. 21, followed by a 76-60 road defeat to league's leader Dickinson State (N.D.) on Feb. 22.

Mayville State concluded their regular season on Feb. 21 at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse, rolling past Valley City State (N.D.) by the score of 100-66.  It was the lone contest for the Comets in the NSAA action last weekend.

Dakota State and Mayville State will be meeting for the fourth time this season, with victories coming by the road teams.  The Comets won a pair of games at DSU Fieldhouse, while the Trojans defeated MSU in Mayville.

Up Next:  The North Star Athletic Association postseason action continues Saturday afternoon in the semifinals, with the winners advancing to the championship game on Tuesday evening at highest remaining seed.

This Week's Quick Hits
+ Dakota State (S.D.) and Mayville State (N.D.) will be meeting for the fourth time this season, twice at DSU Fieldhouse and this Wednesday's contest will be the second time being played at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse.
+ The Comets are 2-1 record this season with the Trojans this season, with each team winning on the road.  Mayville State won the previous meeting on Feb. 14 at DSU Fieldhouse by the score of 77-73. 
+ DSU won the last meeting held at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse on Jan. 31, edging MSU by the score of 70-67.   
+ Dakota State records 17 wins in the last 33 meetings with Mayville State (17-16 record in the last 33 meetings).
+ The last time both the Trojans and the Comets met in the NSAA quarterfinals were on Feb. 23, 2022, at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse.  DSU defeated MSU 74-68 to advance to the NSAA semifinals.   
+ Dakota State had won the last two postseason meetings with Mayville State, both at Lewy Fieldhouse on Feb. 23, 2022 (quarterfinals), and on Feb. 25, 2021 (semifinals).
+ The North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament continues Saturday with the semifinals at the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, and the championship game on Tuesday, March 4 at the highest seed remaining.
+ This will be the final year in the North Star Athletic Association Men's Basketball Postseason Tournament.  The Trojans had advanced to the NSAA Postseason Tournament's championship game four times during the history of the conference since the 2013-14 season.  The last time DSU was in the NSAA championship game was on Feb. 27, 2021, at Bellevue (Neb.).

Noteworthy...
AUTOMATIC BID:  The North Star Athletic Association will have one automatic bid to the NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament.  The tournament champion will receive the league automatic bid to the national tournament, starting with the First and Second Rounds on March 14-15.  The winners after the second round will advance to the final site at the Municipal Gymnasium in Kansas City, Mo., on March 20-25.

TROJANS IN THE NSAA RANKS:  According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Tuesday, Dakota State is second in the league in scoring defense.  The Trojans allowed an average of 70.6 points per game this season.  Colby Dillenbeck ranks second in the league in field goal percentage with 61.5 percent.  Taine Mitchell also ranks fifth in the North Star conference in rebounds with 5.8 rebounds per game.  Lane Tietz ranks 11th in scoring with 10.9 points per game, while Brayden Pankonen is 13th with 10.5 points per game, and Dillenbeck 14th with 10.4 points per game.

REGULAR SEASON RECAP IN THE NSAA CONFERENCE:   All six North Star Athletic Association members recorded double digits victories this season.  In addition, all six conference schools had recorded at least seven home victories in 2024-25.  Dakota State finished in a two way tie for fifth place in the NSAA conference standings with Bellevue (Neb.).
 
DAKOTA STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL RECORD BOOK:  Brayden Pankonen surpassed Roby Grady (127 3-pointers) for all-time 3-point field goals made DSU.  Prior to Wednesday's game, Pankonen made 130 3-point field goals, which is the 10th in 3-point field goal made in school history.  He trails by two 3-pointers to surpass Carson Rentz and Adam Hofer (each with 131 career 3-pointers) for eighth most 3-pointers.

Jamestown (N.D.) defeats Dakota State (S.D.) 86-77
Jamestown, N.D. (Feb. 21, 2025)—Dakota State (S.D.) and Jamestown (N.D.) shot above 50 percent from the field in the first twenty minutes at Newman Arena.  The Jimmies pulled away past the Trojans 86-77 in what could be their final series meeting before both teams make their transitions to new athletics conferences next season. 

DSU opened the game with five straight points, while UJ answered with six straight points.  The first half went through a closely tight contest, with the Jimmies leading 46-40 by halftime.

Jamestown maintained control in the second half, leading between four-and eight points before posting their first double digit lead of the game with 13:16 remaining (61-51 UJ).  The Trojans could get no closer than four points at two different occasions as the Jimmies pulled away for the victory.

Dakota State used a balanced scoring attack with five players in double digits, led by Lane Tietz with 11 points.  Brayden Pankonen, Tyler Beckwith, Colby Dillenbeck, and Lukas Morgan each added 10 points.  Taine Mitchell had six points, seven rebounds, and three assists.  Nolan Segner scored eight points.  

UJ shot 56.1 percent from the field (32-of-57 field goals) compared to Dakota State 50.8 percent (30-of-59 field goals).  Both teams collected 29 rebounds in the game.

Trojans fall in regular season finale in Dickinson
Dickinson, N.D. (Feb. 22, 2025) — Dickinson State (N.D.) clinched the North Star Athletic Association regular season title with a 76-60 victory over Dakota State (S.D.) at Scott Gymnasium in the regular season finale.

The Trojans held the Blue Hawks for more than first two-and-half minutes of the game, ignited by Tyler Beckwith four straight points for 4-0 lead.  DiSU then went on an 11-0 run to overtake the lead and led 39-26 by halftime.

Dickinson State led in double digits for the majority of the second half before Dakota State cut their deficit to single digits by nine points on couple occasions.  The Trojans could not make their comeback, as the Blue Hawks outscored DSU 37-34 in the final twenty minutes of the game.

Lukas Morgan led Dakota State with 14 points off the bench on his 6-of-11 field goals.  Beckwith added 11 points and six rebounds.  Aiden Jensen tallied nine points and five rebounds.  Rysley Borman scored eight points.  Taine Mitchell grabbed nine rebounds.  Lane Tietz dished out five assists.

Dickinson State shot 27-of-58 from the field (46.6 percent), including 12-of-25 3-pointers.  Dakota State was 23-of-60 field goals (38.3 percent) and 5-of-26 3-pointers.  DSU outrebounded DiSU 41-34.

2025 NSAA Postseason Tournament Overview
Madison, S.D. (Feb. 22, 2025)— The 2025 North Star Athletic Association Men's Basketball Postseason Tournament begins Wednesday with a pair of quarterfinal contests at higher seeds. 

Wednesday's contests feature No. 6 seed Dakota State (S.D.) at No. 3 seed Mayville State (N.D.) and No. 5 seed Bellevue (Neb.) at No. 4 seed Valley City State (N.D.).  No. 1 seed Dickinson State (N.D.) and  No. 2 seed Jamestown (N.D.) received a bye in the quarterfinal round and will host the semifinals. 

The NSAA semifinals take place on Saturday afternoon, with the Jimmies hosting the winner of DSU-MSU contest in Jamestown, N.D.  The Blue Hawks host the winner of BU-VCSU in Dickinson, N.D. 

The semifinal winners will advance to the North Star Athletic Association Men's Basketball Championship game on Tuesday, March 4, at the highest seed remaining at 7 p.m. local time.  The winner of NSAA championship game will receive the automatic bid to the NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament, which is set for March 14-15 with the First and Second Rounds.

2024-25 Dakota State Men's Basketball Team Leaders

• Points/Points Per Game:  Lane Tietz - 294 points (10.9 points per game)
• Field Goal Percentage:  Colby Dillenbeck - 61.5 percent (107-of-174 field goals)
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage:  Brayden Pankonen - 38.9 percent (65-of-167 3-point field goals)
• Free-Throw Percentage:  Lane Tietz - 86.0 percent (43-of-50 free-throws)
• Rebounds:  Taine Mitchell - 156 rebounds (5.8 rebounds per game)
• Assists/Assists Per Game:  Lane Tietz - 77 assists (2.9 assists per game)
• Steals/Steals Per Game:  Brayden Pankonen - 31 steals (1.1 steals per game)
• Blocked Shots:  Aiden Jensen - 14 blocks (0.6 blocks per game)