Balanced attack leads Blue Hawks into NSAA semis

Sagan Osborne | Dickinson State Sports Information Director

DICKINSON – Four Blue Hawks scored in double figures as 3-seed Dickinson State shook off a slow start to cruise to a 72-60 over 6-seed Dakota State in the North Star Athletic Association Conference Tournament Opening Round.

After battling to a 29-29 tie in the first half, the Blue Hawks used a 12-2 run early in the second half to erase a 35-29 deficit and take a 43-37 lead with 13:09 left in the game. Neither team lead by more than six points in the first half as the teams struggled to get much going offensively. John Evans gave DSU a 21-15 lead with 7:53 to go in the half as the Blue Hawks looked to be getting into a rhythm. However, the Trojans responded with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 21-21 just three minutes later, and DaSU took the lead 23-22 on their next possession. Christian Murphy connected for two with 23 seconds left in the half to send the teams into the locker room tied at 29.

Dakota State came out in the second half firing, scoring the first six points of the half and taking a 35-29 lead before the DSU run turned the game on its head. The Trojans battled back to make it a one-point game 46-45 with ten minutes to go, but the Blue Hawks responded to take a 59-49 lead on a Christian Murphy traditional three-point play with 5:13 to go. Dakota State never really threatened again as DSU made the plays down the stretch to earn their trip to the semi-finals.

Kose Egbule (13), Murphy (12), Josiah Haaland (11), and John Evans (10) all scored double digit points for DSU while Jaiden Wright (9) just missed out on making it all five DSU starters over 10 points. Evans added 7 rebounds for DSU as their balanced attack was a mirror of their whole season.

"It was a gritty effort by our guys tonight," said head coach Derek Selvig. "Our offense wasn't clicking but we kept getting stops. This group is so fun to coach because of how hard they defend. Toughness has been a big part of our late-season success and that doesn't change heading into this weekend."

WHATS NEXT

The Blue Hawks will head to Watertown, S.D. to take on 7-seed Waldorf in the NSAA Semi-finals on Saturday, February 25.