ABERDEEN, S.D. - Justin Wetzel could only blame himself.
The Dickinson State men’s basketball head coach watched as his team turned the ball over 23 times as Presentation College defeated the Blue Hawks 101-81 on Wednesday in a North Star Athletic Association game.
“We were throwing the ball around the gym. We rushed shots. We looked like the worst-coached team in America,” Wetzel said. “We rushed shots, were out of sync, played selfishly, and that’s a reflection of me in terms of getting them prepared.”
Wetzel credited the Saints (11-11, 3-7 NSAA) for their performance. Donnell Minton led all players with 25 points while shooting 8 of 15 from the floor and 5 of 12 from 3-point range. Tre Erby came off the bench for Presentation and scored 22 points, while Louis Cox scored 17 and Calvin Carr added 14.
Slowing Minton was DSU’s game plan, Wetzel said.
“We didn’t execute it,” he said. “We weren’t aware of what they were capable of doing.”
Reggie Fields Jr. came off the bench to lead the Blue Hawks (11-12, 4-4 NSAA) with 13 points on 5 of 9 shooting, while Julian Vasquez and Stephon Dafney each added 11.
DSU trailed 53-41 at halftime and couldn’t find a way to turn it around.
“It was awful. It was a complete nightmare, top to bottom,” Wetzel said. “It was an awful display of basketball on our end.”
One thing going for the Blue Hawks was their 38-29 rebounding advantage, led by Brandon Jamar’s 12 boards off the bench.
“He came in and rebounded and played well,” Wetzel said. “We need that in a close game. We’ve just got to be more consistent. We’ve got to be tougher. We’ve got to do all the things to win come conference time. We’re just not a consistent ball club right now.”
DSU now has lost it’s last two games after losing to No. 17-ranked Valley City State by one on Saturday and sits at .500 in the North Star - good enough for fifth in the standings.
“I can’t point at a significant change,” Wetzel said. “I wish I could because then I could fix it. I don’t know. We struggled with consistency.”
However, the Blue Hawks will get another chance at Mayville State, a team that beat DSU 59-56 in their last contest, at 6 p.m. Saturday at Scott Gymnasium.
“We’ve got to get it fixed, internally or externally. It was about as ugly and embarrassing display as it can get,” Wetzel said. “We better get it fixed. Again, that falls on my shoulders.”
DSU (11-12, 4-4 NSAA): Stephon Dafney 4-8 0-0 11, Gilberto Shojgreen Jr. 2-4 4-6 8, Jacob Gondrezick 2-3 2-2 8, Curtis Redd 2-8 3-4 7, Julian Vasquez 4-9 2-4 11, Billy Engel 2-7 1-1 5, Reggie Fields Jr. 5-9 3-4 13, Myka Brown 5-6 1-1 9, Roybel Baez 1-1 3-4 5, Kolbi Selby 0-2 0-0 0, Brandon Jamar 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 28-60 19-26 81.
PC (11-11, 3-7 NSAA): Trevor Flemmer 1-3 0-0 2, Donnell Minto 8-16 4-8 25, Louis Cox 5-14 4-4 17, Frank Ciminio 3-9 1-2 9, Andre Gibson-Starks 3-7 0-0 6, Tre Erby 9-15 2-2 22, Calvin Carr 6-9 2-2 14, Severiano Acosta 0-2 0-0 0, Quentin Canty 3-4 0-0 6. Totals: 38-79 13-18 101.
Halftime: PC 53, DSU 41. Total fouls: DSU 21, PC 20. Technical fouls: DSU, Vasquez. 3-point goals: DSU 6-13 (Dafney 3-4, Gondrezick 2-2, Redd 0-1, Vasquez 1-3, Engel 0-1, Selby 0-2), PC 12-35 (Flemmer 0-1, Minton 5-12, Cox 3-9, Cimino 2-7, Gibson-Starks 0-1, Erby 2-3, Carr 0-1, Canty 0-1). Rebounds: DSU 38 (Jamar 12), PC 29 (Erby 10). Assists: DSU 8 (Redd 3), PC 14 (two tied with 4). Steals: DSU 4 (Fields 3), PC 9 (Cox 3). Blocks: DSU 1 (Jamar 1), PC 2 (two tied with 1). Turnovers: DSU 23, PC 11.