VALLEY CITY, ND  (NewsDakota.com)  A 24-point Viking lead was cut to one with 40.9 seconds left in regulation, and the rival, and still league-unbeaten Comets, had a chance to steal a game in Valley City.

The finish was forced with a Viking rebound, something the Comets had owned all night.

Edmon Oyet would grab an offensive rebound on a missed Viking foul shot with the lead back at three with 2.4 seconds remaining, and his ensuing free throw would seal a 102-98 win for Valley City State over Mayville State at the W. E. Osmon Fieldhouse Friday.

The Vikings became the first team in North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) play to knock off the Comets, who took just their fourth loss of the season, falling to 17-4 overall, 7-1 in the league.  The Vikings improved to 4-4 in conference play, 11-11 overall.

The Vikings built an 82-58 lead with 11 minutes to go in the second half, only to watch a concerted Mayville State effort erode the lead to 99-98 with 50 seconds left.

Valley City State’s effort was also scarred by three technical fouls in the opening half, with head coach Ryan Montgomery picking up the first.  Joe Owens then received a technical for celebrating a dunk in front of the Viking student section, and Cayden Rickard received the next for cheering a three-point shot, again with the Viking student section.

Neither of the plays in question involved visible taunting of Mayville State players, leaving the crowd to wonder the reason for the calls.

The Vikings hit their first seven three-point shots of the second half, and 14 of their first 21 attempts from beyond.  They finished 15-26 for the game.

Mayville State turned the tables with a huge rebounding effort, outboarding the Vikings 44-28, 14-5 on the offensive glass to stay in the game.

Eleven players finished in double figures.  The Vikings were lead by Rickard’s 22, with Daevonte Munson adding 17, Owens 15, Duoth Gach 13, and Hunter Sand and Cleveland Bedgood 10 each.

Tom Gieske led the Comets with 26.

In earlier women’s play, the Vikings trailed the front-running Comets by just four at halftime, but struggled to keep the offense moving in the third, falling 88-72 to Mayville State.

Adriana Torres bounced back from a couple of tough games with 22 points to lead the Vikings, playing most of the game with her back to the basket.  She added eight rebounds.  JayCee Richter added 12, and Ashlyn Diemert 11.

The Vikings had early leads, but gave up 10-0 and 12-0 runs in the second half, and struggled to defend Comet standout Mackenzie Hughes, who played downhill to the basket all night.  She finished with 26 on 10-17 from the field.  Jordan Zrust added 24 points and 12 rebounds.

The Viking women fell to 11-10 overall, 4-4 in NSAA play.

Torres and Rickard picked up Ivy Real Estate Group Player of the Game honors for the Vikings.

Valley City State hosts Presentation College Saturday, with gametimes of 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM.