Blue Hawks win overtime thriller to go 1-1 in Bellevue

Sagan Osborne – Dickinson State Sports & Marketing Information Director

Bellevue, Neb. – Dickinson State picked up a big overtime win over Oakland City on Saturday to finish with a weekend split at the Chick-fil-A Classic in Bellevue. The Blue Hawks fell to Peru State on Friday.

Game One – PSU 68 DSU 61

Dickinson State (0-1) battled, but fell short, in their first game of the weekend, falling 68-61 to Peru State (2-0) at the Lozier Athletic Center on Friday. Dickinson State kept the score close throughout, led by Kose Egbule's 16 points and eight rebounds, but shooting struggles and turnovers proved costly in the end.

Dickinson State started strong, keeping the game within reach with a 27-24 deficit at halftime. Egbule led the way offensively, shooting 7-of-16 from the field and grabbing crucial rebounds to maintain momentum. John Evans added 10 points and seven rebounds, while forward Cordell Stinson was dominant on the glass, pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds to go along with his eight points.

Peru State, however, found key scorers in Devin Tomlinson and Stephen Coleman, with Tomlinson scoring a game-high 21 points. Coleman added 16 points and six rebounds.

The Blue Hawks went just one for 20 on three-point attempts (5%) in the loss.

Game Two – DSU 75 OCU 73 - OT

DSU (1-1) earned their first win of the season, defeating Oakland City 75-73 in an overtime thriller at the Lozier Athletic Center on Saturday.

Dickinson State was led by Trey Stevens, who scored 19 points, including 15 (5-13) from three in the win. Stevens, after hitting a triple with two seconds left in regulation to tie the game, hit a pair of free throws with six seconds left in the overtime period to seal the game for DSU.

Kose Egbule added 18 points and pulled down six rebounds while Cordell Stinson grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and blocked one shot for DSU.

Neither team held a double-digit lead in the game, as the back-and-forth affair featured 12 ties and 8 lead changes.

19 turnovers from OCU proved costly as they outrebounded and outshot DSU for the game, but the Blue Hawks had 15 more shots and connected 11 times (11-33) from deep.