DSU turnovers, a technical and 6 free throws help Montana Western to victory

• Casper Hesseldal

Press Photo by Dustin Monke Dickinson State senior forward Casper Hesseldal, right, reacts after the ball was stripped from his hands by Montana Western senior Kyle Perry on Friday afternoon during a men’s basketball game at the Sam Milanovich Classic at Scott Gymnasium.

Talk about it

The Dickinson State men’s basketball team battled Montana Western up and down the Scott Gymnasium court Friday night.

Then came the final 90 seconds.

A barrage of turnovers, a half-doze free throws and a timely technical foul on DSU finally decided it.

Western senior guard Brandon Brown scored a game-high 35 points and hit four of the six free throws that made up his team’s final points en route to a 75-71 victory in a wacky nonconference tilt during the Sam Milanovich Classic.

“We just hung around and found a way,” Western head coach Steve Keller said.

Trailing by one and with his team holding for the final shot, DSU senior guard Ryan Kittleson had the ball stripped by Western junior Cedric Claringtown with 5 seconds remaining.

As Blue Hawks junior guard John Hanstad went to foul Claringtown and stop the clock, DSU head coach Ty Orton was called for a technical.

“I got up and said, ‘That’s a foul?’” Orton said, referring to Kittleson’s turnover. “I don’t know why he called it. I sat the whole night. I didn’t hardly say anything to those guys and, with 3 seconds left, I don’t understand. They’re doing their job. They called a good game. That wasn’t what lost it. We lost it in the last minute.”

DSU’s offense was squeaky clean for much of the second half as it battled for the upper hand, never leading or trailing by more than seven points.

But with just over a minute remaining, the swagger each team was playing with completely disappeared.

With DSU leading 71-70 after senior Casper Hesseldal made a prayer of a fadeaway baseline jumper to avoid a shot-clock violation, the Bulldogs and Blue Hawks began trading turnovers.

Eventually, Brown came away with a steal and was fouled as he went in for a layup with 28 seconds left. He hit both free throws to put Western up 72-71.

DSU (4-6) looked for the last shot, but Western barely let them breach the 3-point line.

“We were into our ‘fire’ call, which is just switch everything,” Keller said. “We did a pretty good job, didn’t foul.”

Immediately after Hanstad fouled Claringtown near mid-court, Orton was called for the technical.

Brown made one of the two technical free throws and Claringtown made both of his double-bonus shots to seal the victory for Western (7-2).

“We needed to execute down the stretch in order to win that game,” Orton said. “… That’s something we’ve got to fix.”

Despite the loss, Orton felt DSU had one of its best performances of the season.

The Blue Hawks shot 29 of 59 (49 percent) from the field and outrebounded the Bulldogs 33-23.

Hesseldal and Lee each had double-doubles.

Hesseldal had 24 points and 10 rebounds. Lee had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Tevin Hurd added 14 points and Robbie Morey scored 11 off the bench while shooting 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

“I thought our execution was really good,” Orton said. “For 90 percent of the time, we executed well. The kids listened well. We made a couple mistakes down the end.”

DSU also had problems stopping Brown, a 5-10 shooting guard.

After scoring 18 points in the first half, he was held scoreless for the first 11:16 of the second half.

DSU held its biggest lead, 56-49, when Brown wasn’t a factor.

“When he gets 35, we’re going to be tough,” Keller said. “We tried to run some stuff for him to get him loose, but he steps up big late in the game. … That’s what he’s expected to do. He’s a great player. He’s too good to be playing at our level.”

Western has won both times it has played DSU this season. The Blue Hawks get one last shot when the teams play again at 2 p.m. today.

“We’ve got to forget this game and play the same as we played today,” Hesseldal said.

MONTANA WESTERN (7-2): Tyler Hurley 4-8 1-2 9, Kyle Erickson 2-4 0-0 4, Kyle Perry 0-1 0-0 0, Brandon Brown 12-21 8-11 35, Cedric Clarington 4-11 7-8 15, Gabe Rucker 0-0 0-0 0, Jake Owsley 2-3 0-0 5, Tyler Miller 3-5 0-0 7, Bridger Chambers 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 27-54 16-21 75.

DICKINSON STATE (4-6): Casper Hesseldal 10-17 4-5 24, Tevin Hurd 5-12 2-2 14, Matt Lee 8-12 0-0 16, Ryan Kittleson 1-3 0-1 3, Jarek Hansen 0-3 0-0 0, Donavyn Persley 0-1 0-0 0, Robbie Morey 4-6 0-0 11, John Hanstad 1-5 0-0 3. Totals: 29-59 6-8 71.

Halftime: UMW 38-36. Total fouls: UMW 17, DSU 15. Technical fouls: DSU, bench. 3-point goals: UMW 5-13 (Hurley 0-1, Erickson 0-1, Brown 3-7, Clarington 0-1, Owsley 1-1, Miller 1-2), DSU 7-21 (Hesseldal 0-2, Hurd 2-6, Kittleson 1-1, Hansen 0-3, Persley 0-1, Morey 3-4, Hanstad 1-4). Rebounds: UMW 23 (Hurley 4), DSU 33 (Hesseldal 10, Lee 10). Assists: UMW 6 (Brown 5), DSU 13 (Kittleson 4). Steals: UMW 9 (Clarington 4), DSU 3 (Morey 2). Turnovers: UMW 7 (Hurley, Brown 2), DSU 14 (Hanstad 3).

Tags: blue hawks, montana western bulldogs, college basketball, sports