Late rally drops Blue Hawks in loss to Montana Western

Dickinson, N.D. – Dickinson State suffered a tough loss on Friday night, losing a 13-point halftime lead in a 64-61 loss to Montana Western to kick off the 2023 Coca-Cola Classic.

The Blue Hawks dominated the early going, building leads as large as 15 points throughout the first half, as they headed into the break leading 38-25. Turnovers were the one thing that both teams struggled with throughout the game as each team coughed it up 20 times on Friday.

Trey Stevens returned from an injury that had sidelined him for the past few games to lead the Blue Hawks in scoring, pouring in 17 points and turning the ball over just once. The return of Stevens gives the Blue Hawks more impressive depth on a team that gets contributions up and down the lineup each night. Kose Egbule continued his excellent season, scoring 14 points, including 8-9 from the free throw line, but a tough UMW defense held the rest of the DSU lineup to single digits.

"All the credit to Montana Western," said head coach Derek Selvig. "They made the plays when they needed to. We have to figure out how to put a complete game together. We have another opportunity tomorrow."