January 31, 2026
MAYVILLE, N.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) built a commanding first-half lead and withstood a late Mayville State (N.D.) push to secure an 81–70 Frontier Conference men's basketball victory Saturday evening at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse. The Trojans completed their conference season series sweep of the Comets, DSU's first season series sweep since the 2013-14 season.
Dakota State earned their second straight win, lifting their overall record to 16-5 and 11-5 record in the league. Mayville State fell to 7-16 overall record and 3-13 record in the conference.
The Trojans produced 11 conference wins for the first time in more than twenty years.
How it happened
Dakota State set the tone early, racing out to a 22–7 lead after sparking a 5-0 lead after five straight points from
Nolan Segner. The Trojans capped scoring opening run with
Brayden Pankonen's 3-pointer with thirteen minutes and thirty-eight seconds on the clock (22-7 lead). The Trojans continued to stretch the margin throughout the first half, leading as many as 18 points at 33-15 after a 3-pointer by
Nathan Ojukwu with 6:32 remaining and 35-17 after
Lukas Morgan's basket with less than six minutes left.
After MSU's 13-4 scoring run to cut DSU's lead into single digit, Ojukwu scored the final five points of the first half including a 3-pointer by the halftime's buzzer for DSU's 44-30 lead.
The Trojans shot 51.4 percent from the field (19-of-37 field goals) in the first twenty minutes of the game, including 6-of-12 from the 3-point line. The Comets were held to 44 percent (11-of-25 field goals) and 1-of-7 from the 3-point line.
DSU's scoring run was extended to 17-2 in the first three-plus minutes, grabbing a 56-32 lead after Morgan's 3-pointer with 16:43 remaining. The Trojans maintained their double-digit lead for the rest of the game until the Comets trimmed their lead into single digit with less than a minute left (79-70 with less than 50 seconds left).
Dakota State Individual Leaders
Mayville State Leaders
- Christian Bowen-Webb: 21 points
- Malik Siggers: 14 points, 5 assists
- Ollie Fell: 11 points
- Isaiah Smith: 8 points, 9 rebounds
Team Statistics
| Category |
Dakota State |
Mayville State |
| Field Goals |
33-70 (47.1%) |
27-55 (49.1%) |
| 3-Point FG |
9-25 (36.0%) |
3-16 (18.8%) |
| Free Throws |
6-10 (60.0%) |
13-18 (72.2%) |
| Rebounds |
33 |
30 |
| Assists |
7 |
9 |
| Turnovers |
7 |
15 |
| Points off TOs |
19 |
6 |
| Second-Chance Pts |
15 |
2 |
| Bench Points |
8 |
24 |
Up Next
Dakota State comes home next weekend to DSU Fieldhouse as they continue their Frontier Conference action. The Trojans host the league's leading No. 23 ranked Rocky Mountain (Mont.) in the 'White-Out' Friday evening at 7 p.m.
