VALLEY CITY, N.D. – The Valley City State University men's basketball team won in an end-of-game thriller 67-66 over Bellevue University Friday night. With a one-point lead, VCSU held off the final Bruin possession to hold on for the conference victory. The Vikings improve to 11-10 overall and 2-7 in the NSAA. The Bruins fall to 12-10 and 4-5 in the conference.
 
Valley City State earned the first basket with a two made by Odier Olange. The teams exchanged opportunities in the physical matchup with VCSU finding a 13-9 lead halfway through the first half. In the last ten minutes, the Bruins outscored the Vikings 22-10 taking a 31-23 lead into the break.
 
Trailing 31-23 at halftime after shooting, the Vikings shot 9-31 from the field, 0-6 from the three-point line and 5-8 from the free throw line. At the half, the Vikings were led by LaDarious Stanfield with seven points and five rebounds while Jaden Patcha had six points and a steal. Tyrel Creger posted four points and scored his 1,000^th career point in the first half.

The Bruins shot 10-18 from the field, 4-8 from the three-point line, and 7-11 from the free throw line. The Bruins were led by TJ Fritz with 10 points. He was followed by Willie Williams with nine points, three rebounds, and a steal.
 
To start the second half, the Vikings went on a run outscoring Bellevue 10-1 to take over the lead at 33-32 with 17:10 remaining. Once again trading physical defensive possessions, the game was tied 46-46 with 9:52 remaining.
 
Moments later, VCSU turned a 46-48 deficit into a four-point 52-48 lead after two back-to-back Creger threes. Down the stretch, the game stayed within one possession most of the way. With 1:53 remaining, the Bruins' Williams made a basket to take a 64-63 lead. Creger responded with a bucket taking back the Viking lead 65-64.
 
In the final minute, Shaheed Muhammad hit two free throws making it a three-point game. Bellevue drove down earning a two-pointer, bringing the game to 67-66. Bellevue fouled to earn back a possession, and Muhammad missed a free throw to keep the score 67-66. The Bruins turned the ball over with four seconds remaining, which gave the Vikings the opportunity to seal the win but a turnover on the in-bound gave the Bruins one final chance but missed the mid-range jumper as the clock expired.
 
The Vikings finished the game shooting 25-55 from the field, 5-12 from the three-point line, and 12-16 from the free throw line. Creger led the team in scoring putting up 21 total points and 17 in the second half en route to his 1,000^th career point. He also tallied five assists and two steals Friday. Stanfield finished with 12 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
 
The Bruins finished shooting 21-37 from the field, 8-14 from the three-point line, and 16-25 from the free throw line. Williams finished with 24 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal. Fritz finished with 15 points and a steal. Nigel Wilson earned 14 points and three blocks.
 
UP NEXT: The Vikings host Dakota State University on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 5:00 p.m.