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Valley City State University

VALLEY CITY STATE UNIVERSITY VIKINGS
VALLEY CITY STATE VIKINGS

Men's Basketball

Viking men rally in 2nd half for 76-72 victory

Riley West scored 20 points and Jayden Ferguson added 16 points as the Viking men's basketball team won a hard-fought contest Friday over Minnesota-Morris, 76-72.

The win moves Valley City State back to .500 at 7-7 overall after the first half of the season, and gives the Vikings a 4-1 record on its five-game home stand.

The Vikings trailed by as many as nine points in the second half at 54-45 with 13:13 remaining. But VCSU chipped away and eventually tied the game at 64-64 on Briton Bussman's 3-pointer with 7:00 remaining.

Mac Kroeplin's two free throws with 5:47 remaining gave the Vikings their first lead of the second half at 68-66 and were part of an 8-0 run that gave the Vikings a 72-66 lead they would not relinquish.

Kroeplin finished with 10 points and four assists as the third Viking to reach double-digit points. West was 7-for-10 from the field, including 2-for-4 on 3's, as he poured in a game-high 20 points. Viking senior Russell Robinson had eight points and six rebounds in his final collegiate game.

VCSU shot 43 percent from the field (26-60), 14 percent on 3's (3-21) and 88 percent on free throws (21-24). Minnesota-Morris shot 40 percent from the field (22-55), 38 percent on 3's (8-21) and 61 percent (20-33) on free throws.

Five different Cougars scored in double figures, led by 15 from RJ Dean and 13 from Tyler Ukkelburg.

Up next: Valley City State (7-7) is off until Dec. 30 when they play at Embry Riddle University (Fla.), which is 10-0 and ranked No. 7 in NAIA Division II. 

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Players Mentioned

Mac Kroeplin

#21 Mac Kroeplin

Guard
6' 2"
Sophomore
Russell Robinson

#33 Russell Robinson

Forward
6' 5"
Senior
Jayden Ferguson

#5 Jayden Ferguson

Forward
6' 5"
Freshman
Riley West

#13 Riley West

Guard
6' 0"
Junior
Briton Bussman

#25 Briton Bussman

Guard
6' 3"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Mac Kroeplin

#21 Mac Kroeplin

6' 2"
Sophomore
Guard
Russell Robinson

#33 Russell Robinson

6' 5"
Senior
Forward
Jayden Ferguson

#5 Jayden Ferguson

6' 5"
Freshman
Forward
Riley West

#13 Riley West

6' 0"
Junior
Guard
Briton Bussman

#25 Briton Bussman

6' 3"
Freshman
Guard
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