February 19, 2026

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
MADISON, S.D. - The Dakota State University Trojan men's basketball squad (16-9 overall record, 11-9 Frontier Conference) looks to snap their losing skid as they play their final home regular season Frontier Conference contests this weekend.  

The Trojans host Dickinson State (N.D.) (8-18 overall record, 6-14 Frontier Conference) Friday evening.  Construction/Neon is the theme for the basketball game on Friday night.

Dakota State welcomes Bismarck State (N.D.) (1-25 overall record, 1-19 Frontier Conference) Saturday night.  Senior Night will be held as the Trojan men's basketball team honors their lone senior - Taine Mitchell - after the conclusion of the women's basketball senior's ceremony and prior to men's basketball warm-up, as well as Military Appreciation Night.  

Both games tip off at 7 p.m. on each day at DSU Fieldhouse.

QUICK HITS
*Dakota State returns home for their final regular season contests before the inaugural expanded Frontier Conference postseason tournament in Butte, Mont., next weekend.

*The Trojans are looking to secure double-digit home victories for the first time since the 2017-18 season.  DSU enters with an 8-4 home record, with their last double-digit home wins being 11 in 2017-18.

*Dakota State is in a two-way tie for sixth in the Frontier Conference men's basketball standings with MSU-Northern, each with 11-9 record.  The Trojans are seeking to snap their four-game losing streak heading to this weekend's contest.

*DSU has secured a spot to the Frontier Conference postseason tournament next weekend at the Butte Civic Center, hosted by Montana Tech.  Dickinson State (N.D.) is one of the three teams (Mayville State, N.D., and Valley City State, N.D.) vying for the final spot in the conference postseason tournament.  Bismarck State will end their season on Saturday at Dakota State.
 

Scoring Offense	73.0	73.7	71.2
Scoring Defense	77.7	65.0	91.8
Scoring Margin	-4.7	8.7	-20.7
Field Goal %	.450	.474	.437
Field Goal Def. %	.478	.433	.503
Free Throw %	.700.	.696	.742
Rebounds Per Game	37.9	35.6	.319
Rebounds Margin	-1.7	6.9	-2.2
3-point FGs Made Per Game	7.7	7.2	6.2
3-point FG %	.312	.361	.314
Assists Per Game	11.5	13.3	10.5
Blocks Per Game	2.4	1.8	1.5

SCOUTING THE BLUE HAWKS
Derek Selvig is in his sixth season as the Dickinson State (N.D.) men's basketball head 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 and final North Star Athletic Association regular season and tournament championships. 

It was the first conference title in 20 years for the Blue Hawks and Selvig was named NSAA Coach of the Year last season. Selvig holds a career record of 68-75 at Dickinson State.

Dickinson State has an overall record of 8-18 and a 6-14 record in Frontier Conference play, with their most recent game being a 91-69 setback to Mayville State (N.D.) on Feb. 14.

Friday's contest is the second Frontier Conference meeting for DaSU and DiSU this season. Dakota State won the first contest in Dickinson, 78-74. 

Dakota State holds a 13-14 record in its last 27 meetings with Dickinson State.

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 1-25 and 1-19 record in the league. Their most recent game was a 94-70 loss against Valley City State (N.D.) on Feb. 14.

Dakota State and Bismarck State will be meeting for the second time in school history on Saturday. The Trojans won the inaugural meeting earlier this season 71-55. 

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State concluded their final regular season road trip last weekend in the state of Montana and could not come up with a victory in the Frontier Conference action.

The Trojans fell behind to Montana Western, where the Bulldogs shot 63 percent from the field in the first half (17-of-27 field goals) to open a 44-22 halftime lead.  Dakota State mounted a furious comeback in the second half but came up short after outscoring UMW 58-46 in the final twenty minutes.  Montana Western held on to an 88-80 victory over the Trojans, earning the season series split (DSU won first Frontier Conference meeting 75-73 at DSU Fieldhouse last month).

Four players scored in double digits for Dakota State, with Kaleel Sutton-White and Nathan Ojukwu each scoring 16 points in the game.  Tyler Beckwith added 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench.  Brayden Pankonen scored 13 points.  Lukas Morgan and Nolan Segner each added nine points.  Dakota State shot 47.8 percent overall in the game (32-of-67 field goals).

Montana Tech scored the first seven points of the game over Dakota State on the following day on Feb. 14 and never trailed in the game.  The Orediggers led 37-23 at halftime and outscored the Trojans 34-27 in the final twenty minutes to secure a 71-50 win in Butte.  MT also completed their season series sweep of DSU.

Morgan scored 15 points (6-of-6 from the free-throw line) and grabbed seven rebounds for Dakota State.  Segner added 10 points.  Beckwith had eight points.  

DSU MEN'S BASKETBALL TO HONOR ONE SENIOR SATURDAY NIGHT
The Dakota State University Trojan men's basketball team will be recognizing their lone senior on this year's squad, graduate student Taine Mitchell.  He will be honored after the conclusion of the women's basketball contest and their senior's ceremony, followed by the men's senior ceremony right before the warm-up on Saturday evening in the Frontier Conference men's basketball regular-season finale versus Bismarck State (N.D.).

Mitchell transferred to Dakota State from Mayville State (N.D.) during the 2023-24 season, where he was a redshirt.  He started in all 29 games during the 2024-25 season, averaging 5.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.  He also recorded 76 assists (2.6 assists per game) during the season.    

Mitchell was a member of the 2024-25 Trojan men's basketball squad that advanced to the North Star Athletic Association Postseason Tournament's semifinal round for the second consecutive season before falling to Jamestown (N.D.).

Mitchell is an integral member of the 2025-26 Dakota State men's basketball team that has produced the best start in program history both overall and in conference play.  The Trojans also produced a seven-game winning streak, which is tied for the fourth longest winning streak in school history with the 1991-92 and 1963-64 squads.  

TROJANS IN THE FRONTIER CONFERENCE RANKS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Thursday, Dakota State (S.D.) leads the overall Frontier Conference in scoring defense after limiting their opponents to 65.0 points per game before this weekend's contests.  The Trojans are third in the league with 67.3 points per game allowed in 20 Frontier contests.  

DSU is third in the league with 7.5 steals per game overall and fourth in the conference with 6.8 steals per game during the conference season.  Dakota State also ranks fourth in the conference in field goal percentage defense, limiting their opponents to 44.9 percent from the field.  

Nathan Ojukwu ranks tied for second with 7.7 rebounds per game with Houston Davis of Bismarck State (N.D.).  Ojukwu also ranks fifth in the conference with 17.6 points per game for the Trojans.  Brayden Pankonen ranks fourth in the Frontier Conference with 45 steals this season.  

2025-26 DSU Trojan Men's Basketball Team Leaders

• Points/Points Per Game: Nathan Ojukwu – 440 points (17.6 points per game)
• Field Goal Percentage: Taine Mitchell – 59.6 percent (31-of-52 field goals)
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage: Ryan Beckwith – 40.0 percent (34-of-85 3-point field goals)
• Free-Throw Percentage: Brayden Pankonen – 81.8 percent (45-of-55 free-throws)
• Rebounds: Nathan Ojukwu – 193 rebounds (7.7 rebounds per game)
• Assists/Assists Per Game: Nathan Ojukwu – 68 assists/2.7 assists per game
• Steals/Steals Per Game: Brayden Pankonen – 45 steals/1.8 steals per game
• Blocked Shots: Aiden Jensen – 13 blocked shots (0.8 blocks per game)