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LOOKOUT (Mo.) – The Valley City State State men’s basketball team had its season come to an end Wednesday night, losing a 75-72 thriller to Indiana University Southeast in the first round of the NAIA National Tournament.

Valley City got 23 points from senior Sekani Milligen, including a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left that gave the Vikings a 72-71 lead and capped off a 10-2 run.

It was a short-lived lead though. The Grenadiers answered right back on Kegan Clark’s bucket inside with 31 seconds to go. Milligen had a fall-away 3-point look on the other end but it was short. Two free throws by Kevin Mitchell made it a 75-72 game with 11 seconds to go, and VCSU’s last-gasp effort came up short as John Raquel’s long 3-point attempt was off the mark.

Milligen led the Vikings with 23 points, including 15 in the second half. Dillon Ostrom had 12 and Raquel scored 11 for VCSU. The game was back and forth throughout before Southeast was able to build a 69-62 lead late in the game. But the Vikings’ full-court pressure led to two steals and four quick points for Milligen. It was part of eight straight points he scored to give the Vikings the 72-71 lead.

The Grenadiers were led by 17 points from Kegan Clark and 14 from Kevin Mitchell. The Grenadiers were 26-for-59 from the field (44 percent), 7-for-18 on 3’s and 16-for-17 on free throws. VCSU was 25-for-60 overall (42 percent), 7-for-27 on 3’s and 15-for-18 on free throws.

The Vikings end their season with a 21-9 record. It is their first appearance at the current format of the NAIA National Tournament, and their first appearance at any National Tournament since 1987.

Indiana Southeast improves their record to 28-4 and moves on to the round of 16 on Friday.