From VCSU Athletics
BELLEVUE, NE. (VCSUAthletics.com) – Kevin Schramm scored 22 points, and VCSU’s defense forced 19 turnovers Friday night as the Viking men picked up a huge road win at conference leader Bellevue University.
The Vikings held a slim 43-40 lead at halftime and never trailed in the second half, earning an 81-73 victory.
Valley City State improves to 15-10 overall and 6-6 in the North Star Athletic Association. Bellevue entered the night tied for first in the NSAA standings with Viterbo University. With Friday’s loss, the Bruins drop to 15-12 overall and 7-5 in conference play.
With two conference games remaining, the Vikings are in a three-way tie for fourth place in the NSAA standings. VCSU is just one game back of second place and two games back of first place.
Valley City State led for the final 29 minutes of Friday’s road game at Bellevue. Trailing 21-17 midway through the first half, the Vikings took the lead for good with a 12-0 run. Cayden Rickard knocked down two 3’s during the spurt, and Eddie Oyet made another 3-pointer and an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Vikings ahead 29-21. VCSU led by as many as 13 points in the first half before Bellevue trimmed the lead to 43-40 at the break.
Bellevue cut the Vikings lead to one point early in the second half, but again it was clutch 3-pointers for the Vikings that created separation. Chris Thompson, Duoth Gach and Kevin Schramm all knocked down 3’s during a 14-7 run that put the Vikings up 57-49 with 15:09 remaining. Bellevue would get no closer than five points the rest of the way, and the Vikings led by as many as 15 in the final minutes.
Schramm shot 8-for-13 overall and went 3-for-4 on 3’s as he led the Vikings with 22 points and six rebounds. Chris Thompson made two 3’s and was 5-for-6 shooting en route to 12 points to go along with four assists and two steals. Rickard played a strong game off the bench, contributing six points and a team-high five assists. Duoth Gach, Jalen Addison, Daevonte Munson and Uhana Ochan all had seven points each.
VCSU’s defense forced 19 turnovers which directly led to 14 points for the Vikings.
As a team, VCSU shot 53 percent from the field (30-57), 48 percent on 3’s (11-23) and 59 percent at the line (10-17). Bellevue shot 48 percent overall (26-54), 45 percent on 3’s (9-20) and 86 percent at the line (12-14).
Valley City State totaled 14 assists to just 10 turnovers.
Up next: The Vikings finish their road trip with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader at Dakota State University. The women tip at 3 p.m. with the men to follow at 5 p.m.