VALLEY CITY – University of Jamestown knocked down eight first-half 3's Saturday, taking control early as they downed top-seeded Valley City State 94-75 in the North Star Athletic Association men's semifinals.

The Jimmies went 8-for-15 from 3-point range in the first half, building a 48-29 halftime lead. The two teams played even throughout most of the second half as VCSU could get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

No. 21-ranked Valley City State drops to 21-10 on the season. The Vikings now must sit and wait to see if they've done enough this season to earn an at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament. The tournament qualifiers and match-ups will be announced on Wednesday, March 2.

University of Jamestown (17-11), which is the No. 4 seed in the NSAA tournament, will play in the NSAA championship Monday night at No. 3 seed Dakota State. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Madison, S.D. The winner earns the NSAA's automatic bid into the national tournament.

In other semifinal action Saturday, Dakota State defeated Mayville State 84-72 in Madison.

Jayden Ferguson scored 25 points for Valley City in Saturday's loss. Nate Vieira added 12 points off the bench, and Nygel Drury added 11 points and seven rebounds. Rashad Satahoo chipped in nine points.

The Vikings shot 43 percent overall (25-58), 29 percent on 3's (5-17) and 61 percent at the free throw line (20-33).

University of Jamestown shot 48 percent overall (27-56), 50 percent from 3-point range (11-22) and 83 percent at the free throw line (29-35).

Brequan Tucker went 15-for-16 from the free throw line as he scored a game-high 29 points for the Jimmies. Jake Hagler went 4-for-4 on 3's and finished with 22 points and seven assists. KeWan Davis added 14 points and Logan Brown scored 10.

The two teams combined for 68 free throws and 54 fouls on Saturday. Valley City State finished with 12 turnovers, eight assists, four blocks and five steals. Jamestown finished with 11 turnovers, 14 assists, two blocks and seven steals.