VALLEY CITY – Viking men's basketball fell 82-75 in a hard-fought game against Montana State University Northern on Friday, Jan. 2. The Vikings are now 4-9 overall and 0-8 in Frontier Conference games. MSUN is now 9-5 overall and 4-4 in Frontier Conference games.

Early in the first half, Northern got out to a quick 9-2 lead in the first four minutes of the contest. The Vikings battled back, going on a 9-0 run, capturing an 11-9 lead, thanks to five points from JR Cison along with field goals by Logan Deal and Taylor Bryant-Frey. MSUN responded with a 12-point run of their own, taking a 21-11 lead. In the closing minutes of the first half, the Vikings closed the gap to five with points from JR, Kaleb Larson, and Joel Nelson.

At halftime, the Vikings shot 15/34 from the field, 3/9 from the three-point line, and 2/4 from the free throw line. JR led the team with nine points, followed by Kaleb with eight. The Northern Lights shot 15-29 from the field, 1-10 from the three-point line, and 9-10 from the free throw line. Claysen Delp led the team with 13 points.

The Vikings fought hard in the beginning of the second half, clawing back from their five-point deficit and taking a 51-43 lead. MSUN later tied the game at 56-56. They proceed to capture a small 3–5-point lead that they would hold for the remainder of the game end with a final score of 76-70.

In the end, the Vikings shot 30-65 from the field, 6-19 from the three-point line, and 9-15 from the free throw line. JR led the team with 21 points. Joel had four points and nine rebounds. Logan tallied 10 points and seven rebounds. MSUN shot 29-56 from the field, 7-22 from the three-point line, and 17-19 from the free throw line. Leon Sayers IV led MSUN with 22 points.

UP NEXT: The Vikings will host the University of Providence on Saturday, Jan. 3, at 7:00 p.m.