DILLON, MONT. – Valley City State nearly overcame a 20-point first half deficit, but their rally fell short as Montana Western won 89-79 over the Vikings on Saturday night in Dillon, Montana.

The Vikings are now 0-6 in the Frontier Conference and 4-6 overall. The Bulldogs are 9-3 overall and 4-2 in the conference.

The Vikings had an early lead in the back-and-forth start. A bucket by Joel Nelson gave the Vikings a 7-5 lead with 16:14 to go in the first half. Montana Western would score the next seven points to take a five-point lead. An easy two for Joshua Whiteside made it 12-7 Bulldogs with 14:36 to go in the first half. The Vikings got back to within one on a Caden Grinde layup to make it 12-11 with 14:08 to go. Western would go on a 20-4 run over the next seven minutes. Two free throws by Whiteside made it 32-15 Bulldogs with 6:59 to go in the first half.

The Vikings would come roaring back in the final seven minutes of the first half to make things interesting. A dunk by Emanuel Steward made it 40-20 with 4:37 to go in the first half. That's when Valley City made its move. The Vikings would end the half on a 19-5 run, including twelve unanswered points. Back-to-back three-pointers by Jaelyn Johnson and JR Cison made it 42-35. A driving layup by Cison made it 42-37 then a steal by Joel Nelson off the inbound and his subsequent baby hook in the lane made it 42-39 Bulldogs with 31 seconds to go. A three-pointer by Steward would make the halftime score 45-39 Western.

The two teams would go back and forth early in the second half. A three-pointer by Nelson cut the lead to three at 50-47 with 17:16 to go in the second half. Montana Western went on a 9-2 run to take a ten-point lead. A layup by Billy Carslon made it 59-49 Bulldogs with 14:16 to go in the second half. The lead would stay between seven and twelve points for the next eight minutes.

A three-pointer by Kaleb Larson cut the lead down to five at 76-71 with 5:47 to go in the second half. That would be as close as the Vikings would get the rest of the game. The Bulldogs would end the game on a 13-8 run to win it 89-79.

Four players scored in double figures for Valley City State. JR Cison led the way with 14 points. Kaleb Larson had 13 points; Joel Nelson had eleven points and a team high seven rebounds. Nez Chehade scored ten points and had a team high three assists. Sam Kobbervig had eight points, Jaelyn Johnson had seven, Alex Lester scored six, and Taylor Bryant-Frey chipped in five.

UP NEXT: The Vikings stay in Montana to take on Montana Tech Sunday in Butte. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. Central Time.