January 3, 2026

BILLINGS, Mont. – Dakota State's (S.D.) late rally came up just short Saturday evening, as (RV) Rocky Mountain (Mont.) escaped with a 48–45 Frontier Conference men's basketball victory at the Fortin Education Center.  The Battlin' Bears used a second-half surge to build a double-digit cushion, then hit enough free throws in the closing seconds to fend off the Trojans' comeback.

Dakota State dropped to 11-3 overall record and 6-3 Frontier Conference record.  Rocky Mountain lifted their overall record to 12-3 and 7-2 record in the league.

How it happened

Dakota State jumped out to a 7–2 advantage after a Brayden Pankonen 3-pointer with fifteen minutes and two seconds on the clock.  After falling behind, the Trojans regained their lead at 17–16 after a Nolan Segner's triple with 5:17 left in the first half.

Sherman Royal III buried a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left before Ojukwu drilled a deep three of his own with 12 seconds remaining, pulling the Trojans within 26–23 at the break.

The Battlin' Bears seized control out of the locker room. Royal and Royce Robinson converted consecutive layups as Rocky opened the second half on a 7–2 spurt for a 33–25 lead with 15:22 remaining.  A jumper from Mekhi Jourdan at the 12:52 mark stretched the margin to 35–25, the RMC's largest lead of the night.

Both teams struggled offensively midway through the second half.  A three-point play from Aiden Jensen – a putback and free throw with 12:04 remaining – cut the deficit to 35–29.

Later, back-to-back free throws from Ojukwu made it 37–36 with just over five minutes left.

Rocky responded with Drew Bowman's 3-pointer off an offensive rebound for a 40–36 advantage with 4:26 remaining, but Ojukwu answered with his second triple to pull DSU back within one at 40–39 with 4:09 left.

Royal powered in a layup and added two free throws to push Rocky's lead to 44–39 with 2:16 to play.

After a pair of Ojukwu free throws, Taine Mitchell sliced to the rim for a layup with 36 seconds left, trimming the margin to 44–43.

Following a timeout, Jourdan hit two free throws to restore a three-point lead at 46–43.

The Trojans got a quick layup chance that wouldn't fall, but Jensen grabbed the offensive rebound and knocked down two free throws with 23 seconds left to make it 46–45 RMC.

Robinson then sank two foul shots with 18 seconds remaining for a 48–45 Rocky edge, setting up a final possession where Dakota State had two looks from beyond the arc in the closing seconds that both missed.

Both teams scored 22 points in the final twenty minutes of the game.

By the numbers

Ojukwu recorded a double-double to lead the Trojans, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds while going 7-for-12 at the free-throw line. Jensen added five points, nine rebounds and three blocks, and Mitchell chipped in four points and five boards. Pankonen scored seven points, while Jonathan Campbell tallied with four points and two rebounds.   D'Marius Shuamker and Segner each had three points.

Dakota State shot 31.8 percent from the field (14-for-44 field goals), including 4-for-17 from 3-point range (23.5 percent), and 13-for-20 at the foul line (65 percent). The Trojans controlled the glass with a 35–25 rebounding advantage and held Rocky Mountain to just 34.0 percent shooting (17-for-50 field goals).

Jourdan paced Rocky Mountain with 13 points, three steals and three rebounds, while Royal finished with 12 points and four boards. Robinson added nine points and three steals, and Bowman totaled five points and four rebounds, including his key second-half 3-pointer. 

Up next

Dakota State concludes their six-game Frontier Conference road stretch next weekend, visiting Bismarck State (N.D.) Friday at 7 p.m. and Dickinson State (N.D.) next Saturday at 8 p.m. (Mountain Time)/7 p.m. (Central Time).