Hawks fly into first place in DAC

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VALLEY CITY — Once again, the Dickinson State men’s basketball team came out ahead without playing a pretty game.

Off the strength of a balanced offense and a solid defensive effort, the Blue Hawks won their fourth consecutive game and claimed first place in the Dakota Athletic Conference with a 60-55 victory over Valley City State on Thursday night at Osman Fieldhouse.

“We beat a really good team at their place,” DSU coach Ty Orton said. “We’re pretty happy about it.”

Nathan Lebsock led the Blue Hawks with 11 points. The sophomore was 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. DSU senior guard Sean Burnham had eight points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Demetrius Young led the Vikings (9-8, 3-1 DAC) with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Dareon Spencer also scored 11 points.

“We’re just happy about it, but we’ve got a long way to go,” Orton said. “It’s still young in the season. We’ve got to make sure we’re getting better every day and getting ready for the next team.”

The Blue Hawks (11-7, 4-0 DAC) visit Jamestown College at 5 p.m. MST Sunday.

DICKINSON STATE (10-7, 4-0 DAC): Nathan Lebsock 2-9 7-8 11, Tomaul Hawkins 5-8 0-0 10, Fred Scheltinga 3-4 3-4 9, Sean Burnham 1-8 6-6 8, Joshua Walker 3-5 0-1 6, Anton Neff 2-4 1-1 5, Derek Pauley 2-5 0-0 4, Brian Lebsock 1-1 1-2 3, Mark Versen 1-4 0-0 3, Ryan Ernst 0-0 1-2 1, Jeremy Mallard 0-1 0-0 0, Branden Thomas 0-3 0-2 0. Totals: 20-52 19-26 60.

VALLEY CITY STATE (9-9, 3-1 DAC): Dareon Spencer 5-10 1-1 11, Demetrius Young 3-6 5-9 11, Zac Wolff 2-3 7-8 11, Calvin Kraft 3-8 0-0 9, Mark Klingberg 2-5 2-5 6, Mike Stowman 2-4 0-0 5, Scott Jesser 1-1 0-0 2, Mike York 0-2 0-0 0, Joseph Bateman 0-0 0-0 0, Orlando Anderson 0-5 0-0 0. Totals: 18-44 15-23 55.

Total fouls: DSU 22, VCSU 26. 3-point goals: DSU 1-9 (Versen 1-2, Mallard 0-1, N. Lebsock 0-3, Burnham 0-1, Walker 0-1, Hawkins 0-1), VCSU 4-14 (Kraft 3-6, Stowman 1-2, Spencer 0-3, York 0-1, Anderson 0-2). Rebounds: DSU 31 (Burnham 10), VCSU 36 (Young 12). Assists: DSU 7 (Burnham 4), VCSU 13 (York 4). Steals: DSU 5, VCSU 3. Blocks: DSU 0, VCSU 2. Turnovers: DSU 11, VCSU 19.

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