VALLEY CITY, ND (Ryan Cunningham, NewsDakota.com) With the W. E. Osmon Fieldhouse out of commission due to troubles with the floor, Valley City State hosted their conference doubleheader with Dickinson State at the Jamestown Civic Center Saturday.
After a late surge by the Bluehawks turned the Vikings aside in women’s play, the Viking men put five scorers in double figures to salvage a split.
WOMEN: DICKINSON STATE 72, VCSU 61
The Viking women battled, but struggled from the three-point line in dropping their ninth straight game.
Despite 14 offensive rebounds, the Vikings managed just 31% shooting on 20-64, including 4-24 from the three-point line. Dickinson State scored the first seven points of the game, and the Vikings would manage to cut the lead to two on a few occasions, but never led.
Dickinson State shot 17-18 from the foul line, and, after having the lead challenged to two in the second half, responded with back-to-back three-point shots by Kaylin Garza and Anhelica Shanrock, springing the to eight in short order. The Vikings could not recover.
Ellie Braaten scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds for the Vikings before reaggravating a knee injury in the second half. Olivia Backus led the Vikings with 16 points in a breakout night.
MEN: VCSU 96, DICKINSON STATE 92
In a wild offensive contest, the Vikings allowed a 7-0 Bluehawk run to close the second half, trailed by as many as 11 in the second, but eventually outscored Dickinson State 57-50 after halftime to earn their second conference win of the season.
While the Viking backcourt was again impressive, the trio of freshman playing in the front court led the way. Joel Nelson led the Vikings with 22 points, with a mixture of threes, dribble penetration and post play. Freshmen Alex Lester and Jaelyn Johnson combined for 21 points, nine rebounds and 9-9 from the foul line, with Lester scoring 11, Johnson adding 10.
The foul shooting was noticed in a large way. The Vikings shot 22-24 from the foul line, 91.7% as a team.
After a long sequence the Vikings leading by three, and then by one, in the second half, Dickinson State responded with a pair of threes by reserve guard Jake Daniel, and another by 6’8″ post Weston Zacher, rolling out to an 11-point lead and seemingly taking control of the game.
The Viking backcourt began to reverse the tide, with J. R. Cison and Kaleb Larson each scoring 18 points, combining for 9-10 from the foul line during the stretch.
The Viking men and women are now both 2-10 in Frontier Conference play, with the women 5-11 overall, the men 6-11. Both are scheduled to play Bismarck State College Sunday in Jamestown, weather permitting.