February 28, 2025

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (Feb. 28, 2025)—The Dakota State University Trojan men's basketball team (12-16 overall record) continues their action in the North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament Saturday afternoon.  The Trojans play in the NSAA semifinals round for the fourth time in the past five seasons after winning an 86-75 road victory at Mayville State (N.D.) on Feb. 26.

Dakota State returns to Newman Arena (1004 7th Street NE) for the second time in eight days, visiting No. 2 seed Jamestown (N.D.) (16-12 overall record).  The game tips off at 1 p.m. in Jamestown, N.D., with the winner advancing to the North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament's championship game at the highest remaining seed Tuesday evening (winner of No. 4 seed Valley City State, N.D., or No. 1 seed Dickinson State, N.D.).

Dakota State earned their second straight NSAA tournament quarterfinal victory on Feb. 26, shooting above 50 percent to earn an upset victory over Mayville State at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse.  It was the third straight postseason victory for DSU over MSU, all held in Mayville, N.D.

Jamestown had a bye in the NSAA quarterfinals and will be playing for the first time since the regular-season finale on Feb. 22, where they defeated Bellevue (Neb.) 75-50.  The Jimmies also defeated the Trojans 86-77 on Feb. 21, concluding their regular-season schedule with two straight victories.

UJ owns a 2-1 season record this season with DSU, with both teams winning on their own home court.

Up Next:  The North Star Athletic Association postseason championship game is set on Tuesday evening at the highest remaining seed, tentatively set for 7 p.m. local time.

This Week's Quick Hits
+ Dakota State (S.D.) had won four times in the last six road contests against North Star Athletic Association members, including a pair of victories at Mayville State (N.D.)
+ The Trojans are seeking to return to the North Star Athletic Association's championship game for the first time since Feb. 27, 2021 (at Bellevue, Neb.). 
+ Jamestown (N.D.) owns a 2-1 season record with Dakota State, with each team winning on their own home court.  The Jimmies won the first meeting in Jamestown 94-73 on Jan. 11, while the Trojans won the second meeting in Madison 83-60 on Jan. 24.  UJ held on to defeat DSU 86-77 in the most recent meeting on Feb. 21, eight days since their last meeting.
+ The last time the Trojans and Jimmies met in the NSAA postseason was on Feb. 29, 2016, at DSU Fieldhouse, where Dakota State claimed their second straight NSAA tournament's championship by the score of 79-65.
+ DSU and UJ met in the NSAA tournament's championship during the first three years of North Star Athletic Association era in 2014 through 2016, with the Trojans winning the last two championship games with the Jimmies.   
+ Dakota State is seeking for their first win at Newman Arena in their series meeting with Jamestown.  The last time the Trojans won in Jamestown was on Feb. 3, 2016 at the Civic Arena by the score of 85-77.
+ This will be the first and final time that Dakota State and Jamestown will meet in the North Star Athletic Association semifinals round.
 
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 Friday, Dakota State is second in the league in scoring defense.  The Trojans allowed an average of 70.8 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 eighth in scoring with 11.3 points per game, while Brayden Pankonen is 13th with 10.6 points per game, and Dillenbeck 15th with 10.3 points per game.

NSAA QUARTERFINALS RECAP:   Dakota State was the lowest seed to win the North Star Athletic Association postseason quarterfinals round on Feb. 26, earning their fourth quarterfinal win in the past five seasons after their 86-75 road victory at Mayville State (N.D.).  No. 4 seed Valley City State (N.D.) held on to defeat No. 5 seed Bellevue (Neb.) 67-64 on the same night in Valley City, N.D.
 
DAKOTA STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL RECORD BOOK:  After scoring 14 points in DSU's 86-75 win at Mayville State (N.D.) on Feb. 26, Brayden Pankonen surpassed Carson Rentz (2018-21) and Adam Hofer (2013-16—each with 131 3-pointers) for eighth most career 3-point field goals made.  Prior to Saturday's game, Pankonen had accumulated 132 3-point field goals made at Dakota State.

Sixth-seeded Trojans upset third-seeded Comets in NSAA quarterfinals
Mayville, N.D. (Feb. 26, 2025)—Sixth-seeded Dakota State (S.D.) shot a blazing 59.3 percent in the final twenty minutes of the game to pull an upset victory over third-seeded Mayville State (N.D.) in the NSAA men's basketball quarterfinals at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse.. 

Mayville State kicked off the game with a 16-6 lead with 15:25 on the clock in the first half.  The Trojans answered with a 14-4 run to tie the game at 20-20.  After a closely tight contest for the rest of the first half, the game was tied at halftime 36-36.

MSU led 38-36 to start the second half, while DSU went on an 11-0 scoring tear for a 47-38 lead with 17:02 to go.  The Trojans went another scoring run and produced the game's biggest lead at 65-49 and never trailed for the rest of the game to secure the victory.  DSU outscored MSU 50-39 in the second half..

Lane Tietz led DSU with 22 points on his 7-of-15 field goals and 4-of-8 3-pointers.  Aiden Jensen added 18 points on his 8-of-10 field goals and grabbed a season high eight rebounds.  Brayden Pankonen had 14 points and three assists.  Colby Dillenbeck scored eight points.  Taine Mitchell grabbed seven rebounds. 

Dakota State shot 55.4 percent overall from the field (31-of-56 field goals).  Mayville State was 45.8 percent from the field (27-of-59 field goals).  DSU outrebounded MSU 33-26..

Trojans to meet for one last time with Jamestown (N.D.)
Jamestown, N.D. (Feb. 28, 2025) — Dakota State (S.D.) will meet with Jamestown (N.D.) for one last time before they make their athletics transition next season.  The Trojans and the Jimmies were formerly the top two teams in the early history of the North Star Athletic Association, meeting in the conference championship game for the first few years of the conference.

Dakota State and fellow North Star Athletic Association members will be making a transition to the NAIA's Frontier Conference with six Montana schools, as well as a new NAIA member of Bismarck State (N.D.).

Jamestown will be jumping to NCAA Division II and play in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, starting in 2025-26.

Before joining the North Star conference, DSU and UJ were in the Association of Independent Institutions championship game for two straight year where the Trojans won both times.  Both teams met three more times in consecutive years when joining the NSAA conference, meeting in the championship game in 2014, 2015, and 2016, with the Trojans winning the final two championship games with the Jimmies. 

2025 NSAA Postseason tournament overview
Madison, S.D. (Feb. 22, 2025)— The 2025 North Star Athletic Association Men's Basketball Postseason Tournament kicked off with the quarterfinals round on Wednesday at the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds (No. 1 and No. 2 seeds received byes).

Dakota State (S.D.) was the lowest seed to advance to the NSAA semifinals round, defeating No. 3 seed Mayville State (N.D.) 86-75 at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse on Feb. 26. 

Fourth-seeded alley City State (N.D.) edged fifth-seeded Bellevue (Neb.) 67-64 in the other NSAA quarterfinals on Feb. 26 at W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse, handing the Bruins their ninth straight setback.

The NSAA postseason tournament is now down to four teams, playing the semifinals on Saturday.  No. 6 seed Dakota State visits No. 2 seed Jamestown (N.D.) in the first semifinal contest, followed by the second semifinal between No. 4 seed Valley City State (N.D.) at No. 1 seed Dickinson State (N.D.).

The NSAA Men's Basketball postseason tournament's championship game is set for Tuesday night at 7 p.m. local time, with the winner receiving the league's automatic bid to the nationals.

2024-25 Dakota State Men's Basketball Team Leaders

• Points/Points Per Game:  Lane Tietz - 316 points (11.3 points per game)
• Field Goal Percentage:  Colby Dillenbeck - 61.5 percent (110-of-179 field goals)
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage:  Brayden Pankonen - 39.0 percent (67-of-172 3-point field goals)
• Free-Throw Percentage:  Lane Tietz - 85.5 percent (47-of-55 free-throws)
• Rebounds:  Taine Mitchell - 163 rebounds (5.8 rebounds per game)
• Assists/Assists Per Game:  Lane Tietz - 77 assists (2.8 assists per game)
• Steals/Steals Per Game:  Brayden Pankonen - 32 steals (1.1 steals per game)
• Blocked Shots:  Aiden Jensen - 16 blocks (0.6 blocks per game)