VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – In their final game that doesn’t matter, or even count in the standings, the VCSU Vikings and Minot State must have forgotten that mindset coming into this game. Both teams played hard and aggressive from tip off. In the end Minot State comes away with the 98-93 victory.

The first half started with great intensity as the Vikings were putting on a full press every time the Beavers would come up the court. However, Minot State would get excellent ball control from their Senior guard Max Cody. Cody, a native from Australia was 7 of 9 shooting on the night, unlike a certain NBA point guard from Australia who calls Philadelphia home, Cody would finish the night with 18 points in 34 minutes of action. The first half also saw Valley City get some great work from their guard Josh Kelly. The 6 foot Senior finished the night with 10 points in 25 minutes. Kelly would also go 3/4 from the line, and dish out 3 assists.

In the second half, Minot State would jump out to a 15-point lead midway through the second frame. Cody was a big reason for that, but also MSU started to use its size advantage down low with Senior forward Kody Dwyer. They would feed him the ball, and he would continuously lay the ball in or slam the ball home. However, the Vikings showed heart and effort all night and refused to let the mindset of, just a preseason game creep into their minds. They would chip away at the double digit lead. Down the stretch the Vikings would come as close as a 5-point deficit thanks in large part to clutch 3-point shots from Senior Captain Jalen Addison. The Guard for VCSU would show great composure when hitting the big shots as time was winding down. Addison would finish 7/11 from 3-point land, and with 25 points.

Ultimately in the end, Minot State was too much for VCSU to overcome. Despite struggling to hit their free throws down the stretch, the Beavers would get clutch shots from Jaxon Gunville and Elias Cave to close out the game, and win 98-93.

For the Vikings the real season begins Friday night, when they travel to take on #23 Northwestern College. Tip off for this game is set for 7:45PM, and can be heard on KOVC.