VALLEY CITY – The Valley City State men’s basketball team held the Blue Hawks to just 16 points in the first half en route to a 76-51 opening round playoff victory at home Tuesday night.
Valley City State advances to the NSAA semifinals on Thursday night. The No. 3 Vikings will travel to face the No. 2 seed Bellevue. Dickinson State finishes the season with a 9-17 overall record.
After holding Dickinson State to shooting just 17 percent in the first half of Tuesday’s game, head coach Ryan Montgomery was proud of the team’s defensive effort. “We told them that defense wins championships and playoff games and tonight they did that.”
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (vcsuvikings.com) – VCSU’s Jalen Addison hit back-to-back 3’s to lead by as much as 14 points late in the second half en route to the men’s basketball 74-63 victory over Dakota State Saturday.
Valley City State improves to 17-6 overall and 8-5 in the NSAA. Dakota State drops to 9-13 overall and 7-6 in the conference.
Head coach Ryan Montgomery was proud of the way the Viking men bounced back after a tough loss to Bellevue Friday night.
“Our guys responded. Life isn’t about sitting and dwelling when things that happen to you, it’s how you respond.” he said. “We challenged them to see what our response would be. I was proud they continued on and didn’t quit.”
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (vcsuvikings.com) – Bellevue University shot 74 percent in the second half Friday night, outscoring Valley City State 50-38 over the final 20 minutes en route to an 89-77 men’s basketball victory.
The two teams entered the night tied for second place in the North Star Athletic Association standings, and were tied 39-39 at halftime. The second half belonged to the Bruins though as they created easy shots and outscored the Vikings by 12 points down the stretch.
Valley City State drops to 16-6 overall and 7-5 in the North Star Athletic Association. Bellevue University improves to 16-12 overall and 8-4 in the NSAA. The Bruins move into sole possession of second place in the NSAA standings, remaining one game back of conference leader Mayville State.
ABERDEEN, S.D. (vcsuvikings.com) – The Valley City State men’s basketball team controlled the tempo in Saturday’s matchup with Presentation College en route to a 88-66 victory.
The Vikings shot 63 percent in the first half and 57 percent in the game. Valley City State also forced 19 turnovers and recorded eight steals as a team in Saturday’s matchup.
Valley City State improves to 12-4 overall and 4-3 in the NSAA. Presentation drops to 3-17 overall and 0-7 in the North Star.
The game was tied up at 18-18 after the first 10 minutes of play when the Vikings took the next six straight points capped by a bucket from Cayden Rickard. The teams traded baskets over the next three minutes, but Valley City State closed out the first half on a 14-5 run to lead 46-31 heading into the locker room.