Blue Hawk men take down Mayville State, soar into NSAA tiltle game

Mayville, N.D. – Dickinson State got 22 points from Trey Stevens and 12 points, seven assists from Kose Egbule as they earned their second straight road upset in the North Star Athletic Association Conference Tournament, taking down second-seeded Mayville State, 71-59, on the road Sunday.

The first half was close the whole way, with the lead changing hands four times over the games opening 20 minutes. Stevens led the way with 10 first-half points, but Cordell Stinson scored all seven of his points in the opening frame, and Jaiden Wright scored six of his 12 points.

With the Blue Hawks clinging to a 29-27 lead, Stinson stole the ball with less than five seconds remaining and soared in for a buzzer beating dunk to give DSU a four-point half time lead.

The Comets scored first in the second half to get within two and tied things up at 35-35 with 14 minutes left in the game, but DSU responded with an 11-0 run to take control of the contest. Stevens, Wright, and DC Stewart all connected from long range during the run to help the Blue Hawks pull away from the Comets.

The DSU lead ballooned as large as 15 when Josiah Haaland scored with 4:34 left, but MSU refused to go away. The hosts fought back to within six, 65-59, but a dangerous foul by the Comets on Egbule as he went up for a dunk led to two ejections for MSU and four free throws for the Blue Hawks as Egbule and Wright both went 2-2 to make it a ten-point lead and put the game out of reach.

"Our guys continue to show their toughness," said head coach Derek Selvig who has now led the Blue Hawks to back-to-back NSAA title games. "Winning on the road in this conference is as tough as it gets. We executed our defensive game plan perfectly and guys made shots on the offensive end. I'm super proud of these young men."

The Blue Hawks will now face top seed Bellevue on the road on Sunday, March 3 with the NSAA title, and a trip to the NAIA National Tournament, on the line.