February 13, 2026

DILLON, Mont. – It was a tale of two halves in the Frontier Conference men's basketball action Friday evening at Straugh Gymnasium.  Montana Western used a blistering first half to race to a 20-point halftime lead and held off Dakota State's second-half comeback for an 88-80 victory.  Both teams split their two Frontier Conference meetings, with each team winning on their own home court.

The Trojans fall to 16-8 overall and 11-8 in conference play, while the Bulldogs improve to 17-8 overall record and 12-7 record in the league.
  First Half Highlights

After trading leads in the first two-plus minutes, Montana Western shot 63.0 percent from the field (17-of-27 field goals) and 55.6 percent from three-point range (5-of-9 3-point field goals) in the opening half, racing out to a 42-22 lead at the break.

The Bulldogs highlighted the late first half by holding the Trojans scoreless for five-plus minutes, fueling a 9-0 scoring run to balloon their lead to 40-18 with 1:37 remaining in the first half.

Tyler Beckwith snapped DSU's scoring drought with a basket with 1:12 to go (DSU trailed 40-20), followed by another basket by the Trojans from Kaleel Sutton-White (Trojans trailed 40-22 with 50 seconds left).

Joshua Whiteside scored 16 first-half points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting performance, while Emanuel Steward added 14 points, including four three-pointers, to fuel the Bulldogs' early momentum.
  Second Half Highlights

Dakota State responded with an explosive offensive second half, scoring 58 points and shooting 53.7 percent from the floor (22-of-41 field goals).  The Trojans were also 7-of-14 from the 3-point line.

UMW maintained their double-digit lead between 10- and 18-points for the majority of the second half until DSU trimmed their deficit into single digits.  A 3-pointer by Nathan Ojukwu (assisted by Brayden Pankonen) helped the Trojans cut UMW's lead to 71-64 with 2:50 remaining.

The Trojans trimmed the deficit to as little as six points (74-68) with 1:40 remaining after Sutton-White's layup, but Montana Western converted key free throws down the stretch to seal the win (17-of-24 free-throws in the second half).

DSU outscored UMW 58-46 in the second half. 
  Dakota State Leaders

Pankonen led Dakota State with 13 second-half points, finishing with 13 total points on 3-of-4 shooting from three and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line.

Ojukwu added 16 points and four rebounds, while Sutton-White scored 16 points with five rebounds and two steals.

T. Beckwith provided a strong lift off the bench, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

Lukas Morgan and Nolan Segner each scored nine points.  Taine Mitchell grabbed four rebounds.
  Montana Western Leaders

Emanuel Steward paced Montana Western with 25 points and seven assists.  He was 8-of-11 from the field, 4-of-6 from the 3-point line, and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.

Whiteside finished with 17 points, and Kyle Gruhler added 13 points and seven rebounds.

Mark Huber chipped in 11 points off the bench.
  Team Statistics

• Field Goals: Dakota State 32-of-67 (47.8 percent), Montana Western 29-of-52 (55.8 percent)
• Three-Point: Dakota State 9-of-25 (36 percent), Montana Western 10-of-23 (43.5 percent)
• Free Throws: Dakota State 7-of-8 (87.5 percent), Montana Western 20-of-29 (69.0 percent)
• Rebounds: Dakota State 32, Montana Western 29
• Assists: Dakota State 11, Montana Western 20
• Turnovers: Dakota State 15, Montana Western 12
• Bench Points: Dakota State 30, Montana Western 21

Up Next

Dakota State plays their final road contest of the regular season schedule Saturday evening.  The Trojans head to Kelvin Sampson Court at Valley Bank Arena in Butte, Mont., to play (RV) Montana Tech.  The game is set for 8 p.m. (Central Time)/7 p.m. (Mountain Time) tip-off.