DSU men take down Bellevue in NSAA opener

Dickinson, N.D. – Dickinson State got a team-high 22 points from Trey Stevens as they held off a late Bellevue charge to win their North Star Athletic Association opener, 73-66, at home.

Both teams struggled to score early in the first half, with the Blue Hawks clinging to a 7-4 lead seven minutes into the contest. Halfway through the opening period it was still just 14-6 DSU after a pair of Jaiden Wright free throws put the hosts up by eight.

The teams heated up a little bit after a timeout by DSU, but the lead for the Blue Hawks stayed around the same, with Dickinson State leading 26-19 with four minutes left in the half. A 13-3 run by DSU to end the half, capped off by a Stevens three, stretched their lead out to 17 at the break as it looked like they would run away with it.

In the second half, the DSU lead grew to 19 points several times, but Bellevue refused to go away. At the 7:45 mark BU cut the lead to single digits, and they got within five multiple times down the stretch. Although the offense started to sputter late in the game, DSU was able to make shots when they needed it, including a couple of huge plays by Stevens, to hold on for the important NSAA win.

John Evans (12 points) and Josiah Haaland (11 points, 4 rebounds) joined Stevens in double figures, while Wright led the DSU bench with nine points.

DSU took tremendous care of the ball all night, turning it over just seven times. They blocked six shots on the night, but were outrebounded 44-35.