University of Jamestown's Jon Purintun nearly brought the Jimmies back from a 22-point deficit in the second half Friday night at Harold Newman Arena.
The junior guard scored 15 of a game-high 28 points during a 25-6 Jimmie run against visiting Dickinson State University. The impressive performance slashed a 61-39 Blue Hawks' lead to just 67-64 with less than five minutes to play.
But Jamestown was unable to get over the hump. Dickinson State was able to hang on and top the Jimmies 79-72.
"If it wasn't for (Purintun), we'd have got beat pretty bad," University of Jamestown men's basketball coach Danny Neville said. "He brought us back in it, but at the end of the day it takes a team and we just didn't do it."
The Jimmies' fate appeared destined in the first half after a flurry off the bench from Dickinson State senior forward Konner Goettsche closed the first half. Tied at 26-all, Goettsche broke loose for three 3-pointers and 14 points during a 21-6 Dickinson run to cap the opening 20 minutes.
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The Blue Hawks led 37-30 at the half.
"I missed a few at first, but my teammates just kept on finding," the 6-foot-6 Goettsche said. "I got into a rhythm, finally, and hit a couple shots for us. It was big."
The Jimmies went 0 of 7 from beyond the 3-point arc to start the game, and things never really got much better. Jamestown, ranked No. 1 in the NAIA in 3-point percentage entering the night at .447 percent, converted just 6 of 30 from downtown in the game.
"Shots weren't falling for us, but I was proud of our guys for coming back," Neville said. "We made it a game there at the end, we just gave up a lot of offensive rebounds to end it there and couldn't get it."
Dickinson ballooned the lead to 22 with around 11 minutes to play in the game. Purintun scored just four points in the first half before erupting for 24 after the break.
Senior Marcus White got loose on the Jimmies for team highs of 15 points and 18 rebounds (15 defensively). Both teams shot under 40 percent in the game.
Senior post Leighton Sampson finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Kevin Oberweiser (10 points) and Jack Talley (10) also finished in double figures for the Jimmies.
"We knew they were going to come out and still hit shots down 22," Goettsche said. "But we kept on fighting. "We're sitting pretty good. This is a huge win for us."
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The Blue Hawks moved to 7-1 in the North Star Athletic Association and 10-6 overall. Both Dickinson and the Jimmies received votes in the latest top 25 coaches' poll.
Jamestown (14-6, 4-4 NSAA) faces Dakota State (9-13) today at 5 p.m.
"The biggest thing about Fridays/Saturdays is you can't dwell on Friday night too much, because you've got a game on Saturday," Neville said.
(RV) Dickinson State 79, (RV) Jamestown 72
DS 37 42 -- 79
UJ 30 42 -- 72
DS-Marcus White 15, Ryan Clark 6, Jerry Shelvin 10, Carter Gallo 14, Terrell Buler 11, Konner Goettsch 14, Akeem Williams 9. Totals: 28-75 FG, 14-19 FT, 9-29 3-pointers (Gallo 4, Goettsch 3, Buler, Williams), 49 Rebounds (White 18), 18 Fouls (Williams), 9 Assists, 9 Turnovers, 2 Blocks, 6 Steals.
UJ-Jon Purintun 28, Leighton Sampson 12, Kevin Oberweiser 10, Jack Talley 10, Sam Johnson 9, Isaiah Dobson 3. Totals: 27-70 FG, 12-17 FT, 6-30 3-pointers (Johnson 3, Talley, Dobson, Oberweiser), 47 Rebounds (Sampson 10), 14 Fouls, 7 Assists (Oberweiser 3), 12 Turnovers, 7 Blocks (Sampson 5), 6 Steals (Purintun 3).
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Records: Dickinson State 10-6, 7-1 NSAA. Jamestown 14-6, 4-4 NSAA.
