Mayville, N.D. – The Mayville State University Men's Basketball team dropped a one-point game to Dakota State in the semifinal round of the NSAA Tournament by a final of 65-66. The Comets drop to 14-5 on the regular season and will wait to see if they advance to the National Tournament next week.
 
Dakota State will start the game on a 10-2 run that lasted over three minutes. The Comets closed the gap to two a few minutes later, on a Joseph two-pointer. The Trojans would continue to keep a lead through the first half as the biggest lead for the Trojans was 11 and took a nine-point lead heading into the intermission.
 
After DSU got a 13-point lead with 18:00 minutes left in the second half, the Comets started to close the gap as they went on a 11-0 run to cut the lead to two. A few possessions later, MSU would tie the game on a dunk from Gieske. The second half was full of runs after the Trojans took a four-point lead, the Comets would answer with a 9-0 run to take a five-point lead with less then six minutes to go. The Comets had a three-point lead with 3:19 left in the game, as DSU would score the next four points and take a one-point lead with 2:24 left in the game.
 
Mayville State would take the lead back on the next possession on a bucket from Gieske. Dakota State would take the lead back shortly after and Mayville State would answer with a bucket from Towne. A 3-point basket by DSU gave them a two-point lead with less then 15 seconds. Ketchell missed a layup but an offensive rebound from Towne and the putback with six second left tied the game at 65. On the ensuing possession, a foul was called on a 3-point shot, and he made one free-throw to pull off the upset on the Comets.
 
The Comets finished the game shooting 40.0 percent from the field, 21.1 percent from the 3-point line, tallied 44 rebounds, and dished out 15 assists. The Comets also finished with 28 bench points, 13 second-chance points, and five points off turnovers. Keiron Goodwin finished the game with 15 points and two rebounds.
 
Xavier Towne finished two points away from a double-double with 11 rebounds, eight points, one assist, one block, and two steals. John Ketchel finished with six points, three rebounds, five assists, and one steal. Latrelle Franklin recorded eight assists, four points, and five rebounds. Thomas Gieske finished with 14 points off the bench with four rebounds. Winder Joseph tallied eight points, five rebounds, and three blocks.