VALLEY CITY – The Valley City State men's basketball team is moving on to the NSAA Final Four.
 
Daevonte Munson poured in 25 points, and Hunter Lyman had a double-double as the Vikings defeated Bellevue University 72-54 in the North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
 
Valley City State advances to the NSAA Final Four this weekend in Watertown, S.D. The No. 4-seeded Vikings will play in the first semifinal Saturday at 6 p.m. against either #1 Mayville State or #8 Presentation College.
 
No. 5 seed Bellevue ends its season with a 15-14 overall record.
 
The Vikings led for the final 29 minutes of Tuesday's first round game, opening up a 31-23 halftime advantage and then leading by as many as 24 points in the second. It is the third straight year that the Vikings will play in the NSAA semifinals. Bellevue had ended VCSU's season each of the last two years in the semifinal round.
 

Munson poured in a game-high 25 points on 9-for-17 shooting. He also pulled down eight rebounds and had three steals. Matthew Schlottman gave the Vikings a spark off the bench as he knocked down three 3's and finished with nine points and five rebounds.
 
"Our guys played really well tonight," said VCSU head coach Ryan Montgomery. "I'm really proud of Schlottman. He's been up and down all year with his playing time, and he stepped up big for us tonight off the bench. And then we also have to talk about Daevonte Munson – he came up big and he played to win tonight."
 
Schlottman saw extended minutes after both Hunter Lyman and Joseph Owens got in some foul trouble down low. Despite missing some minutes due to fouls, Lyman battled inside for a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, including three offensive rebounds.
 
"I thought our bigs were pretty tough tonight," said Montgomery. "And that's what we wanted to do, be as physical as we could possibly be. You gotta win in the paint – especially in the playoffs – and you have to defend, and I think we did both really well tonight."
 
Duoth Gach added nine points and six rebounds for VCSU, and Tate Hebrink totaled seven points and three steals. VCSU's defense forced 18 turnovers and held the Bruins to 35 percent shooting.
 
The Vikings shot 46 percent overall (28-61), 29 percent on 3's (7-24) and 64 percent at the line (9-14). The Bruins finished the game shooting 35 percent overall (18-52), 24 percent on 3's (6-25) and 71 percent on free throws (12-17).
 
Paulo Araujo and Vinny Belcaster each scored 11 points to lead Bellevue's offense.

Up next: Valley City State (16-13) will play in the NSAA Semifinals on Saturday in Watertown, S.D. The Vikings face No. 1 seed Mayville State or No. 8 Presentation College at 6 p.m. The NSAA Final Four is being played Saturday and Sunday at Watertown Civic Arena.
 
NSAA Tournament Page: https://www.playnorthstar.com/article/7582
 
NSAA Final Four Schedule
Saturday, Feb. 25
1 p.m. – Women's Semifinal #1
3 p.m. – Women's Semifinal #2
6 p.m. – Men's Semifinal #1
8 p.m. – Men's Semifinal #2
Sunday, Feb. 26
1 p.m. – Women's Championship
4 p.m. – Men's Championship