February 12, 2026

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
MADISON, S.D. - The Dakota State University Trojan men's basketball team (16-7 overall record, 11-7 Frontier Conference) looks to get back in the winning column as they head west to Montana for a pair of key Frontier Conference games this weekend.  The Trojans visit Montana Western (16-8 overall record, 11-7 Frontier Conference) Friday evening at Straugh Gymnasium in Dillon, Mont.

On Saturday, DSU plays their final regular season road contest as they travel north on Interstate 15 to Montana Tech (18-6 overall record, 12-6 Frontier Conference, receiving votes in the national poll) in the NAIA's Top 25 battle.  The game takes place at Kelvin Sampson Court at Valley Bank Arena in Butte, Mont. 

Both games tip off at 8 p.m. (Central Time)/7 p.m. (Mountain Time).

QUICK HITS
*Dakota State is taking their final regular season trip to the state of Montana this weekend.  The Trojans fell short to Montana Tech and held on to defeat Montana Western in the first Frontier Conference meet last month at DSU Fieldhouse.  DSU returns to Montana two weeks later for the conference postseason tournament in Butte.

*The Frontier Conference has seven teams recording double digit conference wins, including Dakota State with 11 conference wins this season.  The Trojans are in a three-way tie for fifth place in the league with Montana Western and (RV) MSU-Northern.  Montana Tech is fourth with 12-6 league record.

*There are four regular season contests remaining on the Frontier Conference schedule.  DSU plays two road games this weekend and returns home next weekend for the final two home regular season contests.

*Dakota State is seeking to surpass the school record of 12 conference wins in a single season, which occurred during the 2004-05 season in the former Dakota Athletic Conference with 10 teams.
 

Scoring Offense	81.1	74.4	77.3
Scoring Defense	75.0	6.7	67.5
Scoring Margin	6.1	10.7	9.8
Field Goal %	.454	.481	.510
Field Goal Def. %	.458	.424	.406
Free Throw %	.714	.687	.702
Rebounds Per Game	37.2	36.0	.36.0
Rebounds Margin	3.0	7.3	4.9
3-point FGs Made Per Game	9.5	7.3	6.3
3-point FG %	.364	.369	.351
Assists Per Game	13.6	13.7	11.8
Blocks Per Game	4.0	1.9	3.8

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Montana Western, based in Dillon, Mont., is guided by third-year head coach Patrick Jensen where he was the head coach since the 2023-24 season. He was a former UMW assistant coach under former Dakota State's alum, men's basketball athlete, and assistant coach Mike Larsen, starting in 2018-19 season.

Montana Western has an overall record of 16-8 and an 11-7 record in Frontier Conference play, good for fifth in the conference, tied with Dakota State and (RV) MSU-Northern.

Montana Western is fourth in the Frontier Conference in scoring, averaging 81.1 points per contest.  UMW also ranks first in rebounds per game at 37.2 rebounds per game.  The Bulldogs lead the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense, allowing just 29.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Friday's contest is the second Frontier Conference meeting for DSU and UMW this season. Dakota State won the first contest in dramatic comeback fashion, 75-73, erasing a 14-point halftime deficit and holding the Bulldogs to just 24 second half points. DSU is 2-0 all-time against UMW.

SCOUTING THE OREDIGGERS
Adam Hiatt is in his ninth season as Montana Tech men's basketball coach. He has built the Orediggers into one of the premier college basketball programs in the NAIA. He was named to the Frontier Coach of the Year for three consecutive seasons, where he took his squads to four straight Frontier Conference regular season championships as well as four consecutive NAIA national tournament appearances.

The Orediggers, based in Butte, Mont., enter this weekend's contests with an overall record of 18-6 and 12-6 record in the Frontier Conference. MT is in fourth place in the conference standings.

Montana Tech leads the Frontier Conference in field goal percentage, connecting on 51 percent of their attempts. They also rank second in the conference in total rebounding (36 rebounds per game) and are third in scoring defense at 67.5 points per contest.

Dakota State and Montana Tech will be meeting for the second time in program history on Saturday evening. The Trojans dropped the first ever meeting earlier this season by a score of 68-66, losing on a last second three-pointer.

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State fell short in a pair of games with Montana teams last weekend at DSU Fieldhouse against the top teams in the Frontier Conference.

Despite falling 30-23 at halftime and trailing as many as 13 points to the red-hot and league's leading No. 23 ranked Rocky Mountain (Mont.) on Feb. 6, the Trojans stormed back in the second half and knotted the game at 48-48 with less than four minutes to go.  The Battlin' Bears held on to defeat the Trojans by the score of 60-58 to complete the Frontier Conference season series meeting, with both meetings being decided by one possession (RMC won 48-45 in first meeting in Billings on Jan. 3).

Lukas Morgan led Dakota State with 18 points and five rebounds.  Nathan Ojukwu added a double-double of 11 points and collected 12 rebounds.  Kaleel Sutton-White scored 10 points off the bench.  Brayden Pankonen tallied eight points.  Dakota State finished by shooting 36.2 percent from the field (21-of-58 field goals) compared to Rocky Mountain 39.1 percent (18-of-46 field goals).  The Trojans outrebounded the Battlin' Bears 41-34.  

Dakota State could not hold their 40-33 halftime lead with Carroll (Mont.) on Feb. 7.  The Trojans used a monstrous 19-2 scoring run - including 11 straight points - to open a 23-11 lead mid-way through the first half.  The Saints turned the tide early in the second half, using a 20-8 surge to overtake a 53-48 lead with 14:08 remaining.  DSU briefly regained their lead at 59-58 with 11:07 left but could not overcome CC's second half surge.  Carroll outscored Dakota State 50-36 in the final twenty minutes of the game to earn an 83-76 win.

Five Dakota State players scored in double digits in the game, led by Morgan with 21 points and eight rebounds.  He contributed a career-high six assists.  Nolan Segner added career-high 12 points, while Ryan Beckwith added 10 points and four rebounds.  Tyler Beckwith and Kaleel Sutton-White each scored 10 points.  Ojukwu had eight points, five assists, and five rebounds.

Carroll shot 28-of-50 from the field (56 percent) compared to Dakota State 26-of-64 field goals (40.6 percent).  Both teams scored 34 points inside the paint.  The Saints outscored the Trojans 15-6 in fast break points and 18-6 in points off turnovers.

TROJANS IN THE FRONTIER CONFERENCE RANKS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Thursday, Dakota State leads the overall Frontier Conference in scoring defense.  The Trojans held their opponents to 63.7 points per game and second during the conference season by allowing the conference opponents to 65.9 points per game.  The Trojans are also second in the league in field goal percentage, holding their opponents to 42.4 percent from the field (531-of-1252 field goals).  DSU is also second in league in field goal percentage defense with 44.0 percent (434-of-986 field goals).

Offensively, DSU ranks fifth in the Frontier Conference with 13.7 assists per game.  The Trojans ranks sixth in the Frontier Conference in field goal percentage (632-of-1313 field goals).  DSU is second in the conference with 11.2 offensive rebounds per game.  

Nathan Ojukwu ties the Frontier Conference in rebounds per game with 8.0 rebounds per game with RJ Smith of Bellevue (Neb.).  He is also fifth in the league in scoring, averaging 18.3 points per game.  He is eighth in Frontier Conference with 2.9 assists per game.  Lukas Morgan is ninth in the conference with 15.8 points per game.        

Brayden Pankonen ranks third in the conference with 44 total steals for the Trojans.  

UPCOMING FRONTIER CONFERENCE POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT 
Seven teams have already secured a spot to the eight-team Frontier Conference Men's Basketball Postseason Tournament, to be held at Butte Civic Center in Butte, Mont.  Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Bellevue (Neb.), Carroll (Mont.), Montana Tech, Dakota State (S.D.), Montana Western, and MSU-Northern are scheduled to play in the postseason tournament.  The quarterfinals open on Friday, Feb. 27 and Saturday, Feb. 28, followed by semifinals contests on Sunday, March 1, and the championship game on Monday, March 2.

There are four teams vying for the final spot and No. 8 seed to the conference postseason tournament.  Valley City State (N.D.), Dickinson State (N.D.), and Providence (Mont.) are tied for eighth with 5-13 conference record each.  Mayville State (N.D.) is 11th with 3-15 conference record, while Bismarck State (N.D.) is eliminated from the postseason action with 1-17 league record.

The Frontier Conference has two automatic bids to the NAIA National Tournament.  The first automatic bid will be awarded to the regular-season conference champion, while the second automatic bid will go to the tournament's champion.  If the tournament's champion is the regular season champion, the second automatic bid will be awarded to the regular season runner-up.

2025-26 DSU Trojan Men's Basketball Team Leaders

• Points/Points Per Game: Nathan Ojukwu – 420 points (18.3 points per game)
• Field Goal Percentage: Taine Mitchell – 59.6 percent (31-of-52 field goals)
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage: Ryan Beckwith – 41.0 percent (32-of-78 3-point field goals)
• Free-Throw Percentage: Brayden Pankonen – 80.4 percent (41-of-51 free-throws)
• Rebounds: Nathan Ojukwu – 185 rebounds (8.0 rebounds per game)
• Assists/Assists Per Game: Nathan Ojukwu – 66 assists/2.9 assists per game
• Steals/Steals Per Game: Brayden Pankonen – 44 steals/1.9 steals per game
• Blocked Shots: Aiden Jensen – 13 blocked shots (0.8 blocks per game)