MAYVILLE, N.D. – Valley City State had a 10-point second half lead on Saturday but could not hold it on the road at the conference leader.

The Vikings led 42-37 at halftime and 47-37 early in the second half before Mayville State rallied back to defeat VCSU 84-72.

The teams traded momentum multiple times in the second half and were tied 70-70 after VCSU's Daevonte Munson scored with 3:11 remaining.  Mayville State took the lead for good with back-to-back 3-pointers by Jamison Kramer and then made free throws down the stretch to clinch the game.

VCSU drops to 10-11 overall and is now 3-4 in the North Star Athletic Association. Mayville State is now 17-3 overall and 7-0 in the conference. The Vikings and Comets will rematch just six days from now, squaring off Friday night at Valley City's W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse.

The Vikings finish the first half of conference play in fifth place in the NSAA standings at 3-4, but have shown their potential to play with anyone in the conference. VCSU has had second-half leads on the top two teams in the conference, Mayville State and Viterbo, in the past 8 days.

Munson led the Vikings on Saturday with 22 points and four rebounds. He shot 7-for-13 overall and was 8-for-9 on free throws. Cayden Rickard and 14 points and four steals, while Duoth Gach had 14 points and three steals. Hunter Lyman had a new double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Vikings finished with 12 steals and forced 19 turnovers. That defensive pressure helped keep the Vikings in the game despite an off-shooting night. VCSU finished the game shooting 36 percent overall (27-76), 13 percent on 3's (4-31) and 78 percent at the line (14-18).

Thomas Gieske led the Comets with 32 points on 14-for-14 shooting. As a team, Mayville shot 58 percent overall (33-57), 33 percent on 3's (5-15), and 87 percent at the line (13-15).

Up next: Valley City State returns home next weekend for doubleheaders against Mayville State (Friday) and Presentation College (Saturday).