Trojans trim Dickinson

Trailing Dickinson State University by a point, 41-40, at halftime, Dakota State University got hot and went on a 49-36 scoring tear in the second half to hand Dickinson State an 89-77 loss Saturday in Dickinson, N.D.

The win lifted the Trojans' overall mark to 2-7 and its DAC-10 record to 1-1.

The Trojans, who got a quartet of double-figures scoring displays, were sparked by the tilt-tops 25-point performance of Leon Blue.

Ian McKeithen, Shuan Wisdom and Blake Hyde added respective 18-, 16- and 11-point outings as the Trojans shot 79 percent, 19-for-24, in the second half.

"It was great to see us finally shoot the ball the way we are capable of doing," said DSU Coach Tim Schuring. "I've felt all along that our offensive versatility would be a team strength. It finally showed this weekend. I can't say enough about our defense on Saturday."

Ryan Burggraff's nine points, Matt Nulle's four and Frankie Calles' two rounded out Dakota State's scoring.

For the game, Dakota State went 33-55 in field goals and 116-20 at the freethrow line.

The Trojans also out-rebounded Dickinson 38-29 with Blue coming through with 11 rebounds.

Dickinson's scoring was bunched between Alex Perkins, Chad Glasser, Derek Miller and Aaron Brown.

Perkins had 14 points, followed by Glasser with 12. Miller and Brown each had 11 tallies. Perkins also had seven rebounds.

Dickinson shot 31-72 from the field and 11-17 at the charity stripe.

The Trojans' defense limited Ryan Rosvoldt, one of the DAC-10's scorers to just eight points.

"The DAC-10 race is really up for grabs this season," concluded Schuring. "Having so many balanced teams in this league is going to make for a fun race."

This weekend, the Trojans host Valley City State on Friday and Mayville State on Saturday, both games tip off at 7:30 p.m. in the DSU Fieldhouse.  

©Madison Daily Leader 2004