Shorthanded DSU men earn big road victory at VCSU

Valley City, N.D. – Playing without starters Kose Egbule and John Evans, Dickinson State got huge games from Jaiden Wright (20 points, 5 assists) and Trey Stevens (19 points, 3 assists) to take down Valley City State on the road.

Dickinson State was coming off a rare 0-2 weekend last week against Viterbo and Waldorf and were looking at an uphill battle against the Vikings on the road. As has been the theme with this team under coach Derek Selvig, however, the Blue Hawks got contributions up and down the lineup to earn a huge NSAA conference road victory.

Cordell Stinson (13 points, 9 rebounds) and Josiah Haaland (12 points, 6 rebounds) each gave big performances for a new-look starting lineup that still managed to score 64 points. Aidan Fishell and Griffyn Doughty (3-4 3FG) both chipped in nine points off the bench.

Dickinson State raced out to a 16-6 lead to start the game, knocking down their first six shots, but VCSU did not fold, using an 11-0 run to take a 17-16 lead with 12:29 left in the first half. The teams traded blows for much of the rest of the half, but the Blue Hawks were able to head into the half time break with a 47-41 lead thanks to a DC Stewart three-pointer at the buzzer.

The Blue Hawks held onto their lead until the 6:50 mark of the second half when VCSU knotted the game, 63-63, but DSU responded with a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to seal the road victory.

Despite being outrebounded (34-29) and turning the ball over more (10-8), DSU used scorching 56 percent shooting to earn the victory. The Blue Hawks also knocked down 9-19 (47 percent) from long range.