NEW ULM, MINN. – Valley City State's men's basketball team forced 33 turnovers Wednesday night, shaking off the rust of a two-week break en route to their first win of 2023.

The Vikings led 32-26 at halftime and then pulled away in the second half of a 72-58 win at Martin Luther College.

Daevonte Munson shot 8-for-12 from the field as he finished with team highs of 17 points and seven rebounds to lead VCSU. Joseph Owens had 12 points and three blocks off the bench, and Hunter Lyman finished with 10 points and six rebounds.

Ten different Vikings scored as part of a balanced offensive attack, which included six points by guard Cleveland Bedgood in his season debut. Guard Cayden Rickard added eight points and a team-high four steals. The Vikings finished with 19 steals in the game, including three each by Duke Carey and Edmon Paul Oyet.

Oyet also added a team-high five assists.

Leading 42-38 with 13:30 remaining, the Vikings ripped off an 11-0 run to build a commanding 15 point advantage and led by double digits the rest of the way.

The Vikings finished the game at 44 percent shooting overall (30-69), 20 percent on 3's (4-20) and 62 percent on free throws (8-13). Martin Luther shot 38 percent overall (21-55), 36 percent on 3's (10-28) and 86 percent on free throws (6-7).

With the win, Valley City State is now 8-7 overall this season. Wednesday was the final non-conference game of the season for VCSU. The Vikings, who are 1-0 in conference play, jump back into NSAA action this weekend with games at Dakota State and Bellevue University.

Up next: Valley City State resumes conference play Friday night at Dakota State University. The women tip at 5:30 p.m. and the men follow at 7:30 p.m. VCSU radio coverage can be heard on KOVC 1490-AM and online at www.newsdakota.com.