January 8, 2026
THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
MADISON, S.D. - The Dakota State University Trojan men's basketball team (11-3 overall record, 6-3 Frontier Conference, wraps up their season-long six-game Frontier Conference road trip with a pair of games in North Dakota this weekend.
Dakota State heads to BSC Armory (1601 Edwards Ave.) Friday evening for a league contest against Bismarck State (N.D.) (0-15 overall record, 0-9 Frontier Conference). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Bismarck, N.D.
The Trojans close their road trip Saturday evening, visiting Dickinson State (N.D.) (5-10 overall record, 3-6 Frontier) at Scott Gymnasium (1104 2
nd Street W). The game is set for 8 p.m. (Central Time)/7 p.m. (Mountain Time) in Dickinson, N.D.
QUICK HITS
*Dakota State concludes their season-long Frontier Conference six-game road trip this weekend with a pair of games in North Dakota.
*The Trojans looks to swing back in the winning column after falling short in a pair of one possession games in Montana. DSU faced the conference's co-leader No. 15 ranked Carroll (Mont.) on Jan. 2, falling short 82-81. The next day on Jan. 3, the Trojans also fell short at (RV) Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 48-45
*Dakota State plays their first Frontier Conference meeting with Bismarck State (N.D.) on Friday evening.
*Dakota State is seeking for their first win over Dickinson State (N.D.) since Jan. 13, 2024, held in Dickinson, N.D. The Blue Hawks had won the previous four meetings.
*The Trojans and the Blue Hawks were former members of two different leagues, the Dakota Athletic Conference and the North Star Athletic Association.
*Dakota State is 3-3 record on the road this season. Bismarck State is 0-6 record at home, while Dickinson State is 1-4 home record.
2025-26 STATS COMPARISON
|
|
|
|
| Scoring Offense |
68.1 |
76.5 |
71.7 |
| Scoring Defense |
93.3 |
60.9 |
76.8 |
| Scoring Margin |
-25.2 |
15.6 |
-5.1 |
| Field Goal % |
.433 |
.494 |
.449 |
| Field Goal Def. % |
.502 |
.402 |
.481 |
| Free Throw % |
.706 |
.686 |
.709 |
| Rebounds Per Game |
32.4 |
37.5 |
32.3 |
| Rebounds Margin |
-3.3 |
9.4 |
-2.2 |
| 3-point FGs Made Per Game |
6.5 |
7.6 |
7.9 |
| 3-point FG % |
.313 |
.391 |
.309 |
| Assists Per Game |
10.7 |
14.7 |
12.1 |
| Blocks Per Game |
1.4 |
2.4 |
1.9 |
SCOUTING THE MYSTICS
Kevin Rice is the head coach for the Bismarck State (N.D.) Mystic men's basketball team. Rice played collegiate basketball at Utah State and continued his basketball career playing professionally in Turkey, Israel, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, and in Bismarck for the Dakota Wizards. The Mystics enter this weekend's Frontier Conference with an overall record of 0-15 and 0-9 record in the league.
BSC kicked off their inaugural season in the NAIA with setbacks to Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), Trinity Bible (N.D.), Jamestown (N.D.), and Minot State (N.D.). The Mystics began their 22-game Frontier Conference schedule with defeats to Rocky Mountain (Mont.) twice, Carroll (Mont.) twice, Dickinson State (N.D.), Providence (Mont.), and MSU-Northern.
The Mystics are coming off from their pair of defeats to No. 19 Montana Tech on Jan. 2 and (RV) Montana Western on Jan. 3 to kick off their New Year 2026. BSC is averaging 68.1 points per game this season, while allowing 93.3 points per game.
Bismarck State is currently on a four-game Frontier Conference home stand at BSC Armory. This will be the first all-time meeting between both teams in the NAIA and the Frontier Conference.
Both teams will play their second Frontier Conference meeting in the regular season finale on Feb. 21 at DSU Fieldhouse in Madison, S.D.
SCOUTING THE BLUE HAWKS
Derek Selvig is entering his sixth season as the Dickinson State (N.D.) men's basketball he coach. He guided the Blue Hawks to a successful 2024-25 campaign with an overall record of 19-11 (12-3 in the conference), leading the squad to their first North Star Athletic Association regular season and tournament championships. It was the first conference titles in 20 years and was named NSAA Coach of the Year last season. Selvig holds a career record of 68-75 at Dickinson State.
Dickinson State kicked off their season with an 87-70 setback to Eastern Oregon, held in Butte, Mont., on Oct. 24. The Blue Hawks earned their first win after defeating at Midland (Neb.) on Oct .31.
DiSU began their Frontier conference play with a pair of home setbacks to Carroll (Mont.) and (RV) Rocky Mountain (Mont.) last November. The Blue hawks earned their first conference win of the season after defeating their traveling partner Bismarck State (N.D.).
Dickinson State is coming off from a pair of defeats after returning back from Christmas break. The Blue Hawks lost to (RV) Montana Western 78-73 on Jan. 2 and No. 19 Montana Tech 77-75 on Jan. 3.
DiSU is averaging 71.7 points per game this season, while allowing the opponents.
Dickinson State holds a 14-12 record in the last 26 meetings with Dakota State. The Blue Hawks had won the last four meetings, including a 3-game series sweep last year.
LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State's (S.D.) seven-game winning streak came to an end last weekend when they returned to their busy Frontier Conference schedule. The Trojans continued their season-long six-game Frontier Conference road contests, making their return trip to Montana on Jan. 2.
DSU traveled to PE Center in Helena, Mont., to take on the conference co-leader No. 15 ranked Carroll (Mont.). It was a closely tight contest with 11 ties and 15 lead changes in the forty-minute basketball game. The Trojans overtook the lead at 81-80 after
Nathan Ojukwu's layup, but the Fighting Saints quickly answered on the ensuing possession with a long pass from the back court to the front count for a game-winning basket. The Saints held on to an 82-81 thrilling victory over the Trojans.
Carroll took a slim 39-36 halftime advantage, while Dakota State outscored CC 45-43 in the final twenty minutes of the game.
Desman Botts scored a game-high 30 points on his impressive 13-of-15 field goals. He added seven rebounds. Ojukwu added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Tyler Beckwith tallied 11 points.
Dakota State dropped another close contest on the next day on Jan. 3, falling short to (RV) Rocky Mountain (Mont.) in a defensive battle at Fortin Education Center in Billings, Mont. The Battlin' Bears grabbed a 26-23 halftime lead and used a second-half surge to build a double-digit cushion.
DSU rallied back within one point, trailing 44-43 after a layup by
Taine Mitchell with 36 seconds remaining. After a timeout, RMC added two free-throws to make it 46-43.
Aiden Jensen then hit a pair of free-throws to cut Rocky's lead to 46-45 with 23 seconds remaining. The Battlin' Bears added a pair of free-throws to make it 48-45 as DSU was unable to convert the final opportunities when the game ended.
Ojukwu led the Trojans with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Pankonen added seven points. Jensen had five points, nine rebounds, and registered a season-high three blocks.
TROJANS IN THE RECORD BOOK
Prior to last weekend's games in Montana, Dakota State's seven-game winning streak is the tied for fourth longest winning streak in the Trojan men's basketball school record book. The 1991-92 and 1963-64 squads also produced seven-game winning streak. The school record for the longest streak was at nine straight wins, which occurred twice. The most recent nine-game winning streak was set by the 2023-24 squad, as well as the 2015-16 team.
Desman Botts also was listed in the DSU men's basketball school record, despite an 82-81 nail-bitter defeat at No. 15 ranked Carroll (Mont.). He shot 13-of-15 from the field (86.7 percent), which is tied for 10th best single game field goal percentage. Randy Cundy shot 13-of-15 from the field versus Sioux Falls (S.D.) during the 1979-80 season, while Myron Moen also shot 13-of-15 from the field versus Huron (S.D.) in the 1965-66 season. Taylor Zirbel holds the single-game school record of 11-of-11 field goals (100 percent) versus Oak Hills (Minn.) on Nov. 6, 2015.
Brayden Pankonen surpassed J.F. Jensen as the fourth all-time 3-point field goals made at Dakota State after last weekend's games. Prior to this weekend's games in North Dakota, Pankonen drained 159 3-point field goals since 2023. Jensen made 157 career 3-pointers from 2000-04. Brendon Boomsma holds the third all-time record of 175 3-point field goals made from 2014-18. Jason Smidt holds the all-time school record of 302 3-pointers from 1996-2000.
DSU RETURNS HOME NEXT WEEKEND
Dakota State returns home for the first time in more than a month next weekend at DSU Fieldhouse. The last time the Trojans played on their home court was on Dec. 6 when they defeated Valley City State (N.D.) 77-62.
DSU is concluding their six-game road stretch in the Frontier Conference play this weekend and return home next Friday, Jan. 16 versus Montana Tech in the annual Ag Ball contest. The Trojans continue their three-game home stand versus Montana Western on Jan. 17.
Dakota State begins their second half portion of the conference schedule on Friday, Jan. 23, hosting (RV) Bellevue (Neb.) in the Coaches vs. Cancer contest. Fans are encouraged to wear pink clothing and sneakers to the contest to help raise cancer awareness. DSU's remaining home schedule includes Rocky Mountain (Mont.) on Feb. 6, Carroll (Mont.) on Feb. 7, Dickinson State (N.D.) on Feb. 20, and Bismarck State (N.D.) on Feb. 21.
TROJANS IN THE FRONTIER CONFERENCE RANKS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Thursday, Dakota State leads the Frontier Conference in overall defense scoring. The Trojans limited their opponents to 60.9 points per game overall.
Nathan Ojukwu ranks second in the Frontier Conference with 8.5 rebounds per game for Dakota State. He is also fourth in the league with 18.6 points per game and fifth with 45 total assists.
Desman Botts ranks fourth in the Frontier Conference in field goal percentage of 64.7 percent.
Brayden Pankonen ties for third most steams in the conference with 29 steals (Kellen Harrison of Carroll, Mont.).
2025-26 DSU Trojan Men's Basketball Team Leaders
- Points/Points Per Game: Nathan Ojukwu – 261 points (18.6 points per game)
- Field Goal Percentage: Aiden Jensen – 60.4 percent (32-of-53 field goals)
- 3-point Field Goal Percentage: Ryan Beckwith – 43.5 percent (20-of-46 3-point field goals)
- Free-Throw Percentage: Brayden Pankonen – 78.6 percent (22-of-28 free-throws)
- Rebounds: Nathan Ojukwu – 119 rebounds (8.5 rebounds per game)
- Assists/Assists Per Game: Nathan Ojukwu – 45 assists/3.2 assists per game
- Steals/Steals Per Game: Brayden Pankonen – 29 steals/2.1 steals per game
- locked Shots: Aiden Jensen – 12 blocked shots (0.9 blocks per game)
