FOREST CITY, IOWA (VCSUVikings.com) – The Valley City State men’s basketball team won its fifth straight conference game Friday night, closing out the regular season with an 83-73 victory at Waldorf University.
After starting conference play with a 2-9 record, the Vikings have played their best basketball over the last three weekends with their backs against the wall. With the win, Valley City State finishes the regular season at 7-9 in conference play and sits in a solid position to qualify for the eight-team NSAA Tournament. The NSAA season wraps up Saturday with three games across the conference.
Coupled with Presentation College’s loss Friday night, the Vikings are now a half-game ahead of the 6-9 Saints, who play Saturday against Jamestown. VCSU is currently tied with Viterbo at 7-9. If Presentation College loses Saturday, the Vikings and V-Hawks would both make the tournament.
If Presentation College wins Saturday, anywhere from three to five teams will be tied at 7-9 and the NSAA tiebreaker procedures would be used to determine who qualifies for the tournament. The Vikings would qualify in a three-way tie with Viterbo and Presentation College, but the tiebreakers become messier if both Dakota State (7-8) and Waldorf University (7-8) lose their final games on Saturday.
The Vikings have ridden the backs of their six seniors down the stretch and Friday night was no different. VCSU’s five senior starters combined to score 81 of the team’s 83 points in the victory over Waldorf. Valley City State shot 57 percent for the game, making 29 out of 51 field goal attempts.
Valley City State led most of the game Friday, but late in the second half Waldorf used a 7-0 run to take a 67-64 lead with six minutes remaining. From there it was all Vikings. VCSU scored the next seven points as part of a 15-3 run that gave the Vikings a commanding 79-70 lead with just two minutes left.
Jayden Ferguson dished a team-high five assists and scored 20 points to lead four Vikings who scored 17 or more. Austin Dunbar had a monster double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Justyn Galloway posted 18 points and eight rebounds. Rashad Satahoo knocked down three 3’s and finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Point guard Alex Quist hit a pair of 3’s and finished with seven points and two assists.
The Vikings shot 7-for-14 on 3’s and went 18-for-25 on free throws. VCSU was hampered by 14 turnovers, compared to just six for Waldorf.
Brady Kuchinka poured in 20 points to lead Waldorf, who retakes the court Saturday against Mayville State. The Warriors shot just 39 percent on Friday (24-61), but stayed in the game by going 21-for-23 at the free throw line.
Up next: Valley City State (14-15, 7-9 NSAA) must wait until the conclusion of Saturday’s games to confirm if they’ve made the NSAA Tournament, which would start Thursday.