November 7, 2026
BELLEVUE, Neb. — Dakota State (S.D.) continued its unbeaten start to the 2026-27 men's basketball season Saturday evening, cruising to a 106-60 victory over Ozark Christian (Mo.) in the CHI Health Orthopedic Classic at BU Fieldhouse. The Trojans shot a blazing 62.7 percent from the field and placed six players in double figures.
Dakota State raised their overall record to 3-0. Ozark Christian fell to 0-2 overall record.
How it happened
Dakota State dominated from the opening tip, scoring the game's first 13 points from five different players (
Tian Chatman,
Aiden Jensen,
Tyler Beckwith,
Lukas Morgan, and
Brayden Pankonen) and never trailed.
DSU extended its lead to 30-7 following a 3-pointer by
Kee'on Hutton with 11:53 remaining before halftime. The Trojans shot an impressive 69.2 percent from the field (27-of-39 field goals) in the first 20 minutes, including 50 points in the paint.
The Trojans erupted for 60 first-half points, building a commanding 60-25 halftime advantage before outscoring the Ambassadors 46-35 in the second half.
Dakota State maintained its comfortable advantage throughout the second half, eventually building its largest lead of 49 points with 6:29 remaining after a 3-pointer by
Ayuel Deng. The Trojans finished with 82 points in the paint and received 51 points from their reserves.
Inside the box score
Beckwith led six Trojans in double figures with a game-high 15 points, shooting 7-of-8 from the field, including his lone 3-point attempt. Beckwith also collected six rebounds, three assists and a steal. Jensen and Morgan each contributed 14 points. Jensen connected on 7-of-9 field goals while adding four assists, three rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot. Morgan shot 6-of-11 from the field and made both free-throw attempts. He led the Trojans with eight rebounds and three steals while dishing out three assists and recording a block.
Jonathan Campbell provided a spark off the bench for DSU, finishing with 11 points on perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 1-of-1 at the free-throw line. Campbell added four rebounds and two assists.
TJ Harris rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting. He distributed a game-high six assists and collected two steals.
Hutton added eight points on perfect 3-of-3 field-goal shooting, including a 3-pointer, and grabbed four rebounds for Dakota State. Chatman scored seven points and contributed two rebounds and two assists.
The Trojans' balanced offensive attack featured 13 players scoring at least five points.
Brayden Chandler led Ozark Christian with a game-high 19 points, shooting 6-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-6 from the 3-point arc. Chandler also made all four free-throw attempts and collected five rebounds.
Trey Main followed with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting, while Curtis Davenport contributed seven points and two rebounds.
Ty Cloud led the Ambassadors with five rebounds and two blocked shots.
Dakota State finished with a season-high 106 points, shooting 62.7 percent from the field (47-of-75 field goals). The Trojans connected on 6-of-23 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc (26.1 percent) and converted 6-of-8 free throws (75 percent).
Ozark Christian shot 37.7 percent from the field (20-of-53 field goals), including 38.5 percent from the 3-point line (5-of-13 3-point field goals). The Ambassadors converted 15-of-18 free throws (83.3 percent).
The Trojans dominated the rebounding battle 46-18, including a 16-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. Dakota State recorded 26 assists compared to eight by Ozark Christian.
DSU outscored the Ambassadors 82-26 in the paint, 27-5 in second-chance points and 51-19 in bench scoring. The Trojans also held a 27-9 advantage in points off turnovers, forcing Ozark Christian into 20 turnovers.
Up next
Dakota State is preparing for their annual game with Dordt (Iowa) at the Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Tuesday evening. The game is set for 7:30 p.m.
