The Valley City State men's basketball entered Wednesday night leading the NSAA standings but facing one of four teams tied for second place just a game behind VCSU. At the end of the night, the No. 20-ranked Vikings remained alone in first place after battling to a 91-79 victory over visiting Dickinson State.
The Vikings closed the first half on a 21-3 run Wednesday, turning a 28-21 deficit into a 42-31 halftime lead. Trailing 28-21 with 5:33 remaining in the first half, the Vikings caught a break when Dickinson was whistled for a back-to-back personal foul and technical foul. Rashad Satahoo went to the line and sank all four free throws for VCSU, starting the Vikings' game-changing run.
Dickinson State pulled back to within 52-48 on Jacob Gondrezick's 3-pointer with 14:27 to go in the second half, but VCSU responded with seven straight points to push the margin back up to 59-48. The Blue Hawks would get no closer than nine the rest of the way.
Valley City State improves to 19-7 overall and 7-3 in conference play. VCSU now has 10 conference points. Dickinson State drops to 12-13 overall and 5-5 in conference play. The Blue Hawks have seven conference points.
Five different Vikings scored in double figures Wednesday and two Vikings posted double-doubles. Justyn Galloway led the way with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Ellwood Ellenson posted 11 points, three blocks and 12 rebounds, including five offensive rebounds. Nygel Drury and Nate Vieira both finished with 16 points, and Jayden Ferguson added 13 points in the win.
Valley City State shot 58 percent in the second half (19-33) and 48 percent in the game (31-65). VCSU was 25 percent from 3-point range (4-16) and 76 percent at the free throw line (25-33).
Dickinson State had four players score in double figures, led by 17 points off the bench by Julian Vasquez. Reggie Fields Jr. poured in 14 points. Stephon Dafney added 12 points and Curtis Redd chipped in 10.
The Blue Hawks shot 38 percent overall (26-68), 25 percent on 3's (4-16) and 66 percent at the free throw line (23-35).
VCSU committed 18 turnovers while the Blue Hawks had 16 turnovers.
Up next: VCSU (19-7, 7-3 NSAA) will travel to Dakota State (13-13, 7-4 NSAA) on Saturday. Game time is at 6 p.m. Dickinson State (12-13, 5-5 NSAA) travels to No. 23-ranked Bellevue University (18-9, 5-3 NSAA) on Saturday. Game time is 4 p.m.
