VALLEY CITY - In a battle of Top 25 teams, the Valley City State men's basketball team had the No. 9-ranked team in the nation on the ropes Wednesday night, but Dakota Wesleyan rallied in the final minutes for a 93-89 victory over the Vikings.
In front of a full house of VCSU students, the Vikings took an 84-82 lead on Darryl Howell's basket with 2:19 remaining – but Dakota Wesleyan's Trae Bergh followed with a 3-pointer on Dakota Wesleyan's ensuing possession and the Tigers went 8-for-8 at the free throw line down the stretch.
It was the first home loss of the season for No. 19-ranked VCSU (10-2, 2-0 NSAA) and also the Vikings first loss to an NAIA opponent. Dakota Wesleyan, which was the national tournament runner-up last season, improves to 9-3 overall.
Wednesday's game featured eight ties and eight lead changes. Dakota Wesleyan could not miss in the first half as the Tigers shot 63 percent from the field, including a 60-footer at the buzzer by Tate Martin that put the Tigers up 52-44 at halftime.
Dakota Wesleyan extended the lead to 11 points early in the second half before the Vikings battled back. Jayden Ferguson and Ellwood Ellenson scored the next eight points for VCSU, cutting the Tiger lead to 55-52.
Valley City State took its first lead of the second half at 64-63 after Nate Vieira scored on a fast break with 12 minutes remaining. The Vikings led by as many as four points in the second half. Darryl Howell's 3-pointer with 9 minutes left put VCSU ahead 74-70.
Three-pointers by Rashad Satahoo and Riley West gave VCSU leads of 77-73 and 80-77. Tied at 82, Howell drove to the basket with 2:19 remaining and converted for VCSU's last lead of the game at 84-82. Dakota Wesleyan missed its first shot on the next possession, but got an offensive rebound that led to Bergh's go-ahead 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:44 remaining.
Trailing 87-86 in the final minute, VCSU forced a jump ball with 16 seconds left that gave the Vikings the ball with a chance to win it. But on the ensuing possession VCSU turned the ball over and Dakota Wesleyan made free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Howell led all scorers with 27 points – shooting 10-for-20 from the field. Rashad Satahoo knocked down a pair of 3-pointers off the bench for VCSU and scored 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting. Jayden Ferguson added 13 points and Justyn Galloway had 11 points and eight rebounds. Nate Vieira had nine points, two assists and two steals off the bench.
VCSU shot 45 percent as a team (31-69), including 51 percent in the second half (18-35). Valley City State finished 42 percent from 3-point range (8-19) and went 19-for-26 at the free throw line.
Dakota Wesleyan was led by 21 points from Jade Miller and 20 points from Bergh. Twelve of Bergh's points came at the free throw line. Dakota Wesleyan shot 51 percent overall (27-53) and 33 percent on 3's (6-18). The Tigers finished 33-for-41 at the free throw line.
A total of 60 fouls were called in the game – 32 against VCSU and 28 against Dakota Wesleyan.
The Vikings out-rebounded the Tigers 35-31, including a 15-6 edge on the offensive glass. Valley City State forced 17 Dakota Wesleyan turnovers, which was seven above the Tigers season average. Valley City State committed 14 turnovers.
Up next: Valley City State (10-2, 2-0 NSAA) resumes NSAA conference play on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. when the Vikings host No. 13-ranked Bellevue University (8-4, 1-0 NSAA).
