VALLEY CITY, ND (Ryan Cunningham, NewsDakota.com) Memorial Auditorium at Concordia will work as a home for Viking basketball in a pinch.
The Viking women hit the century mark in rolling the Comets, while the men used the foul line and milestone day in sweeping Mayville State Saturday in Moorhead.
WOMEN: VCSU 100, Mayville State 57
Most of the Viking starters sat the fourth quarter in the romp over the Comets to break a 10-game losing streak.
The Vikings had not won since they defeated #12-ranked Montana Tech at home November 22nd. The Vikings shook off a slow start Saturday by repeatedly torching Mayville State’s pressure defense and a strong day from the three-point line.
Tiyana Schwinghammer scored 13 first-half points, 10 in the first quarter, while the Vikings shot 11-33 from the three-point line. Most of the starters left the game late in the third after the lead grew to 30.
Tilda Mauritzson and Aubrey Prunty each scored double-figures off the bench with 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Vikings racked up 16 offensive rebounds and shot 23-30 from the foul line.
MEN: VCSU 78, Mayville State 72
Valley City State was outshot by Mayville State by six percentage points, and shot less than 40% from the field on Saturday. As with the game a week before against Dickinson State, it didn’t look like a Viking win early in the second half.
The difference came from a milestone day, two big shots off the bench, and the foul line.
Kaleb Larson scored his 1000th career point early in the first half, on his way to 21 points, leading four Vikings in double figures for the win. With the game on the line, Taylor Bryant-Frey nailed a pair of key corner threes, and the Vikings tore into Comets with foul shooting, hitting 25-32 free throws, compared to the Comets shooting 6-8 from that same foul line.
J. R. Cison scored 17, with Bryant-Frey adding 14 and Logan Deal knocking in 13 in the win. The win tied the Vikings for the final Frontier Conference tournament spot with a month to play, including another run in with Dickinson State on the road in two weeks.
The Vikings are set to play Dakota State and Bellevue University this weekend, with the site to be determined after an evaluation of the W. E. Osmon Fieldhouse floor on Tuesday.