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.”

The Vikings also out rebounded Dickinson State 41-28, including 10 on the offensive glass. Valley City State tallied 10 steals and forced 17 Blue Hawk turnovers.

“At this point in the season you have to find extra possessions and extra momentum plays. I’m proud of our guys for outlasting them twice in a row.” added Montgomery.

The Vikings added a balanced offense Tuesday, with 12 Vikings scoring at least a point in the game. Kevin Schramm scored a team-high 14 points and Jalen Addison added 11 points. Daevonte Munson grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds Tuesday.

Valley City State opened up with a 10-3 run over the first six minutes and never looked back Tuesday night, holding the Blue Hawks to just six field goals in the first half and taking a 31-16 lead at halftime. The Vikings led by as much as 27 points on a bucket from Will Tinjum to cruise past Dickinson State in the NSAA Quarterfinal.

Valley City State shot 49 percent on field goals (31-63), 26 percent on three-pointers (5-19), and 75 percent on free throws (9-12). Dickinson State shot 32 percent from the field (19-59), 20 percent on three-pointers (4-20), and 82 percent from the free throw line (9-11).

UP NEXT: Valley City State travels to Bellevue on Thursday for the NSAA Quarterfinals. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.