The Valley City State men's basketball team fought back to a .500 record Monday night after winning its third straight game.
Mac Kroeplin scored a career-high 23 points and Riley West dished out seven assists as the Vikings defeated Crown College 92-61 at the W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse.
The Vikings are now 6-6 overall this season and improve to 6-1 at home. VCSU continues its home stand Saturday against University of Winnipeg.
VCSU opened up a 43-30 lead at halftime and steadily pulled away in the second half Monday behind a balanced attack. The Vikings outscored Crown 49-31 in the second half.
Kroeplin's career night of 23 points led the way, but Briton Bussman scored 10 first-half points and finished with 14 in a balanced attack. Jayden Ferguson scored 13 points and Quinton Peterson added 11 points and six rebounds. Anthony Saavedra, Russell Robinson and Rashad Satahoo added six points each.
The Vikings shot 48 percent from the field (29-60) and were 25 percent on 3's (5-20). VCSU forced 22 Crown turnovers. Crown College finished at 32 percent overall (18-57) and 32 percent on 3's (8-25).
The two teams combined for 56 team fouls and 65 free throw attempts. The Vikings were 29-for-38 at the free throw line while Crown was 17-for-27 on free throws.
Up next: Valley City State (6-6) hosts University of Winnipeg on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
