VALLEY CITY, N.D. – Valley City State got big games out of two newcomers to pullout a 99-91 overtime win against Minnesota-Morris in men's basketball Tuesday at the Bubble in the season opener.

The Vikings are 1-0 on the season.

JR Cison and Kaleb Larson scored eleven of the Vikings 15 points in overtime leading the way for VCSU. Cison finished with 30 points and Larson finished with 21.

In the first half, neither team could take control of the game. The biggest lead either team had was seven. Minnesota-Morris took a six-point lead thanks to a 7-0 run early in the first half. Larson gave Valley City State a one-point lead at 5-4 with a basket inside with 18:13 to go in the first half. A bucket by the Cougars Kaden Pieper gave UMM the lead back at 6-5 and started the 7-0 run. A basket by Carvin Fish capped the run for the Cougars and made it 11-5 with 15:09 to go in the first half.

VCSU would regain the lead with a three-pointer by Cison that made it 20-18 with 10:39 to go in the first half. That was the biggest lead the Vikings would have in the first half. Minnesota-Morris used an 8-0 run to take the six-point lead back. A free throw by Jase Nelson made it 26-20 Cougars with 7:34 to go in the half. The Vikings would come right back with six unanswered points to tie the game. A bucket inside by Cison made it 26-26 with 6:21 to go in the half. The Cougars would use a 7-0 to take a 33-26 lead with 4:18 remaining in the half. That lead would stay between three and six points the rest of the half with Minnesota-Morris up 44-40.

The biggest lead of the game for the visitors was nine-points and that came one minute into the second half. A two-pointer by Pieper made it 49-40 with 19:00 to go in the second half. Minnesota-Morris maintained the lead until Cison hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 65 with 9:35 to go in the second half. Caden Grinde's three-pointer 49 seconds later capped a 12-2 run by the Vikings to give them the lead 68-65 with 8:46 to go in the half.

A two-pointer by Logan Deal capped a 16-3 run for Valley City State as they took a six-point lead with 7:04 to go in the half. The Vikings held the lead until the final seconds when Ian Fahje scored inside as the horn sounded, capping a 6-1 Cougar run that tied the game at 84-84 at the end of regulation.

In the extra session, Cison made his sixth three-pointer nine seconds into overtime to give the Vikings a 87-84 lead. They held that lead until Samuel Daho completed a three-point play to tie the game at 89-89 with 3:35 to go in overtime.

The Vikings took the lead back for good on a three-pointer by Larson with 3:02 to go. He would make another three-point with 1:43 to go to make it a five-point game for the Vikings. VCSU would get baskets down the stretch from Cison and Joel Nelson to hold on the lead and pick up the 99-91 win.

Along with his 30 points, Cison had a game high six assists and four steals. Larson added a game high nine rebounds and had four steals to go with his 21 points. Logan Deal had 16 points and five boards. Joel Nelson chipped ion ten points and seven rebounds. Alex Lester added eight points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Vikings while Nick Carlson and Taylor Bryant-Frey had five and three points respectively.

After scoring 18 points in the first half, Minnesota-Morris' Kaden Pieper finished with a team high 21 points.

UP NEXT: The Vikings will be on the road this weekend in Yankton, South Dakota. They will take on Mount Marty University on Friday night and Doane University on Saturday afternoon.