From VCSU Athletics
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VCSUAthletics.com) – The Valley City State men’s basketball team continued its late season push with a 79-74 victory against Dickinson State on Friday night, earning a home playoff game with the win in their season finale.
Friday’s victory was VCSU’s third in a row and fifth in the last six games as the Vikings have played their way into a Top 4 seed for the NSAA Postseason Tournament starting next week. Valley City State University will be the No. 3 seed if Mayville State loses to Presentation College on Saturday. If Mayville State wins its final game, the Vikings and Comets will be tied for third, and the tiebreaker will come down to a coin toss.
Regardless of their final seed and opponent, the Vikings know they’ll host a home playoff game at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 23.
Friday’s win was VCSU’s 17th of the season – tying Bellevue for the most among any NSAA team this year. The Vikings tallied an 8-6 conference record, finishing one game back of regular season co-champions Bellevue and Viterbo.
On Friday, the Vikings celebrated Senior Night, recognizing Connor Entzi, Kevin Schramm, Jalen Addison and Chris Thompson in a pregame ceremony. Those four went on to score 55 of VCSU’s 79 points in the game, including a huge 23-point, 15-rebound double-double for Schramm. Schramm also surpassed 1,000 career points early in the second half, joining Entzi as one of 20 Vikings to reach that milestone in VCSU men’s basketball history.
Thompson knocked down a pair of 3’s and finished with 14 points and two assists. Addison hit two 3’s as well and totaled 12 points and eight rebounds, and Entzi provided a boost with six points off the bench.
“I’m extremely proud of all four of them,” VCSU head coach Ryan Montgomery said after the game. “This was their Senior Night, and we put a lot of trust in them. We went to Kevin, Jalen and Chris a lot, and Connor came off the bench tonight and really bought into that role with some defensive leadership and big points.”
An enthusiastic student section helped propel the Vikings to a 34-24 lead in the first half as the Vikings fed off the energy in the crowd. Dickinson State would battle back though and finished the first half with a 9-0 run as they took a 45-43 lead into the locker room.
The teams traded baskets in the second half – totaling eight lead changes and seven ties in the final 20 minutes – as neither team could gain an edge. Trailing 72-70 with 3:15 remaining, VCSU’s Duoth Gach scored on a putback to tie the game at 72-72. A pair of free throws by Thompson gave the Vikings the lead for good at 74-72 with 2:51 to play. The Vikings then went 5-for-6 on free throws in the final 80 seconds to ice the victory.
After the game, Montgomery said VCSU’s student section made a huge difference in helping carry the team down the stretch.
“I told the guys after our handshake line to go celebrate with the student section,” he said. “Tonight’s atmosphere is what college basketball is all about. To have that atmosphere on your home court really helps carry you on nights like tonight.”
Valley City State shot 41 percent overall (28-69), 29 percent on 3’s (8-28) and 88 percent at the free throw line (15-17). The Blue Hawks went 9-for-21 on 3-pointers in the first half, but cooled off as they finished 12-for-39 (31 percent) for the game. Dickinson State shot just 35 percent overall (24-69) and were 14-for-18 on free throws.
Aushanti Potts-Woods led the Blue Hawks with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Bryce Knox scored 14 points and Ajdin Toskic added 13 points for Dickinson.
Up next: Valley City State will host a first round playoff game on Wednesday, Feb. 23. Dickinson State will be on the road their first round playoff game.