DICKINSON, N.D. (vcsuvikings.com) – Valley City State’s bench scored 60 of the team’s 84 points Saturday night as the Viking men’s basketball team used its depth in a road victory at Dickinson State University.
Duoth Gach headlined the bench effort with a season-high 27 points, helping the Vikings to an 84-79 win in their North Star Athletic Association conference opener.
Valley City State improves to 8-4 overall this season and is now 1-0 in conference play. Dickinson State drops to 0-8 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
“Our depth showed tonight,” said VCSU head coach Ryan Montgomery. “Dickinson State is better than their record shows and they gave it their all. Our bench responded and helped us get the conference win on the road, which is really tough to do. We will enjoy this tonight and get back to work on Monday.”
Valley City State – the preseason favorite to win the NSAA conference title – built a 43-33 halftime lead and never trailed in the second half. The Blue Hawks tied the game twice after halftime and cut the lead to one point on three other occasions, but the Vikings always had the answer. A basket by Dickinson’s Bryce Knox cut VCSU’s lead to 80-79 in the final minute, but Joshua Kelly went 4-for-4 at the free throw line in the final 24 seconds to clinch the victory.
After the Vikings fell behind 10-2 early in the game, Gach came off the bench to spark a huge Viking rally. Gach scored 16 points over the next four minutes, igniting a 27-8 Viking run that turned the 10-2 deficit into a 29-18 lead.
The Vikings finished the game shooting just 37 percent overall (26-71) but shot 38 percent from 3-point range (11-29) and went 21-for-24 on free throws.
Gach made five 3’s and shot 10-for-16 overall as he led the Vikings with 27 points. Uhana Ochan also had a big game off the bench, finishing with 16 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Eddie Oyet posted 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists off the bench, and Tate Hebrink added six points and five assists as part of VCSU’s 60 bench points. Kelly finished with eight points, going 6-for-6 on free throws.
VCSU recorded 11 steals and forced the Blue Hawks into 19 turnovers. The Vikings turned it over just 13 times.
Cobe Begger and Knox each made five 3’s for Dickinson State as the duo combined for 41 points to lead the Blue Hawk offense. Dickinson State shot 43 percent overall and went 43 percent from 3-point range (16-37).
Up next: Valley City State will play a pair of non-conference home games this week, hosting University of Maine Fort Kent on Wednesday and Oak Hills Christian College on Sunday.