GREAT FALLS, MONT. – A late three-pointer by Brendan Redhead lifted the University of Providence to an 90-89 win over Valley City State in Frontier Conference Men's basketball in Great Falls, Montana.
The Vikings are 9-13 overall and 5-12 in the conference. Providence is 4-19 overall and 4-13 in the conference.
The first half was a game of runs. Valley City State had the first run, a 7-2 run, to take its first lead of half. A three-pointer by
Jaelyn Johnson gave the Vikings a 7-6 lead with 16:19 to go in the first half. Then it was the Argos turn for a big run, a 15-2 run with eight of those points coming in a row. A three-pointer by Marvel Chambers Jr. gave Providence the lead back at 9-7 with 15:48 to go in the half. That started the big run for the Argos. A layup by Quinn Swanson capped the run, making it 21-9 Providence with 11:58 to go in the first half.
Over the next seven minutes, the Vikings went on a 21-4 run to take a five-point lead late in the half. A jumper by
JR Cison made it 30-25 VCSU with 4:42 to go in the half. A three-pointer by
Caden Grinde made it 35-27 Vikings with 2:54 to go in the first half. The teams went back and forth from there with the Vikings leading 39-34 at the half.
In the second half, Providence used an 8-3 run to start the half to tie the Vikings. Two free throws by Jakub Lloyd for the Argos would make the score 42-42 with 17:19 to go in the second half. Back-to-back three-pointers by Cison and
Joel Nelson would give the Vikings a six-point lead at 48-42 with 16:06 to go in the second half. Cison's third straight three gave the Vikings their biggest lead of the game at 54-45 with 14:53 to go in the half.
Over the next five minutes, Providence would outscore VCSU 17-9 to cut the lead to one. Two free throws by Brendan Redhead made it 63-62 Vikings with 10:08 to go in the half. His three-pointer 40 seconds later would tie the game at 65 with 9:29 to go. That started a 9-2 run by the Argos who took the lead back on a putback by Lloyd, a Chambers layup, and two free throws by Lloyd to make it 71-67 Providence. A layup by Cison would give the Vikings the lead back at 72-71. A Cison free throw made it 73-71 VCSU, from there the game would be tied five times. The Argos took a brief lead when Marcus Lawson made one of two free throws to make it 78-77 Providence with 4:30 remaining in the half. A three-point play by VCSU's Johnson made it 80-78 Vikings. The would be tied at 83 and 85, before a three-pointer by
Kaleb Larson made it 88-85 Vikings with 1:17 to go in regulation.
The Argos had a chance to take the lead, but Lloyd missed two free throws with eight seconds to go.
Joel Nelson got the rebound and was fouled with 7.1 seconds to go. Nelson made the first free throw but missed the second. Anthony Hobbs got the rebound, got the ball to Redhead who made a three-pointer with .9 seconds to go. The inbound pass went into the hands of a Argo player to end the game.
JR Cison finished with 23 points, 14 in the second half, and six assists for the Vikings.
Joel Nelson had 17 points and five rebounds.
Jaelyn Johnson had ten points off the bench.
Caden Grinde and
Logan Deal each scored eight points,
Taylor Bryant-Frey and
Kaleb Larson had seven each.
Alex Lester had five points.
UP NEXT: Valley City State heads to Havre, Montana to play Montana State-Northern. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m.MT/8:00 p.m. CT.
