Blue Hawks erase huge first half deficit to take down Providence, 94-89

BILLINGS - Kose Egbule had 22 points, five rebounds, and four steals to lead Dickinson State (4-8, 0-1) to a come-from-behind victory over the University of Providence (6-8, 1-1), 94-89 to open the men's portion of the Green and Gold Classic hosted by Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana on Thursday evening.

The Blue Hawks had the lead at the 12:54 mark when a Josiah Haaland layup made it 19-18 DSU, and a Trey Hladky three pushed the lead to 22-18 a minute later. After the teams traded baskets for a couple of trips down the floor, the momentum suddenly shifted towards Providence. A three-point basket with 8:53 left in the half sparked a 21-2 run that saw the Argos' lead balloon to 17 with just 3:09 left in the half. Just as it seemed that UP had gained complete control of the game, DC Stewart knocked down two straight three-pointers for the Blue Hawks to cut the lead back down to 11, 46-35. Egbule and John Evans combined to score the next six points and all of a sudden, the Blue Hawks were within five, 46-41. Two Providence free throws with six seconds left in the half sent the Argos into the break leading 48-41, but the momentum had emphatically changed hands.

After a UP free throw started the scoring in the second half, Dickinson State used a 9-2 run to get within one, 51-50, on a Tyce Dahlberg basket in the paint. As many times as the Argos tried to run away, the Blue Hawks always had an answer and finally, at the 7:52 mark, Egbule evened the game at 70-70 with a layup and then immediately gave DSU the lead with a three pointer on their next possession. A Jaiden Wright three ball gave the Blue Hawks their largest lead of the game, 82-74, before a 10-3 Providence run gave the lead back to the Argos with 3:01 remaining on a four-point play. Egbule redeemed himself for the foul a couple minutes later when he knocked down a tough mid-range jumper to put Dickinson State back in front 85-84. Providence threatened a few times down the stretch but could never tie the game again as the Blue Hawk defense held strong to finish off a hard fought victory.

Haaland scored a season-high 19 points off the bench and pulled down six rebounds to lead a Blue Hawk bench that outscored their counterparts 38-16. Hladky and Evans joined Haaland and Egbule in double figures with 16 and 13 respectively and Evans just missed out on a double-double as he grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Both teams had a tremendous night from the field with DSU edging UP 54 percent to 50 percent. Providence shot 64 percent from long range, but a 38-26 edge in rebounding, 12-6 in offensive boards, was all the advantage DSU needed to take down the Frontier Conference foes.

"So proud of our guys" said head coach Derek Selvig, who has lauded the growth of his young team all year. "They didn't waiver all game. Even when we got down 17 in the first half, they just kept battling and made plays down the stretch. I'm so excited for these players, they earned it."

WHATS NEXT

The Blue Hawks will conclude their trip to Montana when they take on host Rocky Mountain College at 7:30 pm MT on Friday, December 30.