JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Valley City State trailed by as much as twelve points in the second half and ended the game on a 26-8 run for a 96-92 win over Dickinson State in Frontier Conference Men's basketball at the Jamestown Civic Center.

Valley City State is now 6-11 overall and 2-10 in the Frontier Conference. Dickinson State is now 5-14 overall and 3-10 in the conference.

The first half was back and forth with neither team having more than a five-point lead at any point of the half. There were six lead changes and four ties in the first 20 minutes. Griffyn Doughty hit a three-pointer eleven seconds into the game to get things started for Dickinson State, the back-and-forth was on. JR Cison hit a three-pointer for the Vikings 16 seconds later to tie the game at 3-3. After Doughty hit a baseline teardrop to give the Blue Hawks a 5-3 lead, VCSU went on a 9-2 run to take a five-point lead. Cison matched Doughty's basket with a short jumper in the lane to start the run and tie the game at 5-5. Kaleb Larson's putback gave Valley City State its first lead at 7-5. A fall-away jumper from 15 feet by Joel Nelson capped off the run and gave the Vikings a 12-7 lead with 16:34 to go in the first half.

The Blue Hawks would take their five-point lead thanks to a 17-7 run. Another three-pointer by Doughty gave Dickinson State the lead at 16-14 with 14:11 to go in the first half. The run was capped off by Isaiah Vargas with a driving layup in the lane that made the score 24-19 Blue Hawks with 11:02 to go in the first half. Valley City State came right back with an 9-2 run to retake the lead. A three-pointer by the Vikings' Joel Nelson gave VCSU the lead back at 28-26 with 8:22 to go in the half. The teams would exchange baskets for most of the rest of the half until the Blue Hawks used a 7-0 run to end the half. A baby hook by Weston Zacher gave Dickinson State a 40-39 lead with 53.1 seconds to go in the half. A dunk by Detavius Frierson with 26.4 seconds to go in the half made it 42-39 and that was the score at halftime.

The lead stayed between two and five points for the first five-and-a-half minutes of the second half. A long three-pointer for the right win by Kaleb Larson gave Valley City State the lead back at 54-53 with 15:31 to go in the second half. There were three lead changes over the next 3:46, the last one came after a three-pointer by DC Stewart gave the Blue Hawks a 63-61 lead with 11:45 to go in the second half. Dickinson State would hold that lead, except for a brief tie at 64, and would extend it to twelve points after a three-pointer by Jake Daniel made it 84-72 with 6:11 left in the second half. That's when the Vikings made their comeback.

The comeback started on a fall-away baseline jumper by Cison to make it 84-74 with 5:55 to go in the second half. It would also start an 16-4 run by Valley City State to take the lead. A steal and layup by Alex Lester gave the Vikings the lead back at 88-86 with 2:08 remaining in the second half. After a dunk by Cordell Stinson tied the game at 88 with 1:43 to go in the half. Two free throws by Cison with 1:09 to go in the second half gave Valley City State the lead for good at 90-88. Cison, Logan Deal, and Larson combined to 8 for 8 at the free line in the final minute to close out the game.

Freshman Joel Nelson led five Vikings in double figures with a career high 22 points. JR Cison and Kaleb Larson each had 18 points. Cison had five assists and Larson had five rebounds. Alex Lester had eleven points and a team high seven rebounds. Jaelyn Johnson added ten points and six rebounds. Logan Deal had nine points and five boards while Taylor Bryant-Frey chipped in eight points.

Up Next: The Vikings host Bismarck State College Sunday January 18^th at the Jamestown Civic Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.