VALLEY CITY N.D. – The Valley City State University Vikings were defeated by Dickinson State University 72-51 Saturday in Valley City, N.D. The Vikings are now 10-6 on the season and 1-3 in NSAA conference play. The Blue Hawks move to 7-6 and 3-0 in NSAA games.
 
VCSU's Caden Grinde opened the scoring with a two-pointer made assisted by Tyrel Creger. The teams went back and forth matching baskets on each end early in the first. Five minutes into the matchup with the score of 11-10 in favor of the Vikings, the Blue Hawks went on a 6-0 run to generate the largest lead in the game to that point at 16-11.
 
The Vikings followed with some offense of their own tying the game at 21-21 with a Jayden Patcha two. With 5:46 remaining in the half, the Vikings extended their lead to 33-26 with a two made by Lamar Grayson. Down the stretch, DSU closed the gap and took a lead into half time with a last-second basket made by Trey Stevens.
 
Going into halftime, the Vikings shot 15-27 from the field, 2-6 from the three-point line, and 3-4 from the free throw line. VCSU was led by Lamar Grayson who earned 13 points, two rebounds and two assists.
 
The Blue Hawks shot 14-29 from the field, 6-13 from the three-point line and 4-4 from the free throw line. The Blue Hawks were led with a balanced effort from Trey Stevens, John Evans, and Jake Daniels producing a combined 21 points.
 
Starting the second half, Dickinson State went on a 10-0 run growing its lead to 48-35. With 6:48 remaining DSU had still held the Vikings to only five points in the half leading with a score of 59-40. The Blue Hawks played strong to the finish, closing the game out 72-51.
 
The Vikings were 22-53 from the field, 2-12 from the three-point line and 5-7 from the free throw line. Lamar Grayson closed the game with 20 points. Jerome Washington tallied nine points including his 1,000^th career point. Washington totals 1,000 points with stops at VCSU, Itasca Community College and McPherson College.
 
DSU shot 26-57 from the field, 9-23 from the three-point line, and 11-12 from the free throw line. Evens finished with 12 points, followed by Daniels and Stevens with 11 and 10 respectively.
 
UP NEXT: The Vikings remain at home taking on the Mayville State University Comets on Friday Jan. 10 in a Men's and Women's double header. Women tip off at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men at 7:30 p.m.