DWU men upset No. 18 Dakota State

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team picked up its biggest win of the young season Wednesday night when it upset No. 18 Dakota State University 85-76 at the Corn Palace. The win marks the first against the Trojans for the DWU men since Nov. 15, 2011, when Dakota Wesleyan beat DSU 70-69 at the Corn Palace.

Dakota Wesleyan (4-2) led by 12 with 3:57 left to play, but went on a 7-2 run to cut that lead to seven, 77-70, with 2:08 remaining. Jalen Voss hit a pair of free throws to make it a nine-point game, but Marcus Smith and Dylan Hale hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut DWU's lead to three, 79-76, with 1:02 to play.

Tate Martin hit a pair of free throws and then stole the ball on Dakota State's next possession, and hit two more free throws to push DWU's lead back to seven, 83-76, with 43 seconds left in the game. The Trojans turned the ball over again but Dakota Wesleyan failed to capitalize, but Hale missed a three with 28 seconds left and Martin stole the offensive rebound and hit two more free throws to ice the win for the Tigers.

Dakota State hit a three to start Wednesday's game, but that's as big a lead as either team could manage until the final five minutes of the first half. Voss converted a three-point play and Martin hit a three to put the Tigers up four, 29-25, with 5:05 left in the half, and Voss scored on two straight possessions to push DWU's lead to eight with 3:34 left. A pair of free throws by Voss made it a 10-point game in the final minute of the half, but the Trojans scored twice to cut the Tigers' lead to six, 37-31, at the half.

The Tigers led by as many as 17but the Trojans (3-2) went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to eight, 59-51, with 9:03 remaining. Dakota Wesleyan pushed its lead back to 15 thanks to a pair of free throws and a three by Trae Bergh, but the Trojans kept pushing and fighting back until the final seconds of the game.

Voss finished with a game- and career-high 33 points to pace Dakota Wesleyan, which shot nearly 43 percent from the field. He also had 13 rebounds. Bergh added 19 points and Martin finished with 15 points and nine assists. DWU went 23-for-29 from the line and had 38 rebounds.

Hale led DSU with 24 points and Yusuf Binson had 22 points and eight rebounds. Smith added 16 points and eight rebounds and Cameron Robinson had five assists. The Trojans shot 41.3 percent from the field and went 13-for-20 from the line.

Dakota Wesleyan is on the road for a pair of nonconference games when it travels to Denver, Colo., Friday and Saturday. The Tigers play Southwestern Christian Friday afternoon and host-school Johnson & Wales University Saturday.