Valley City turns up the heat in second half to top DSU
The Valley City State men’s basketball team had a slight advantage at halftime.By: Royal McGregor, The Dickinson Press
- John Hanstad
The Valley City State men’s basketball team had a slight advantage at halftime.
It was only a matter of time until the Vikings made it a double-digit lead.
VCSU used a 22-point performance from Sekani Milligen to take a 79-65 win over Dickinson State during the Sam Milanovich Classic on Saturday at Scott Gymnasium. It was VCSU’s second win in seven days against DSU.
“The second half was really about getting defensive stops,” VCSU assistant coach Matt Karlgaard said. “We challenged our guys at halftime to hold the score under 62, which is our goal for every game.”
The Vikings had a 43-40 lead at halftime as Gus Kueber had 12 points and Milligen supplied 10. The two continued their hot streaks in the second half. As a team, VCSU was 15 of 28 (54 percent) in the first half as DSU went 15 of 33 (46 percent).
DSU didn’t quite have the same magical shooting performance in the second half. The Blue Hawks went 11 of 33 (33 percent) and just 1 of 7 from 3-point range.
“I think in the first half we were just hitting shots,” DSU head coach Ty Orton said. “I don’t think our defensive effort was there. Valley had a lot to do with that. They are a very well-round team.”
It was Milligen’s 3-pointer that gave VCSU its first double-digit lead, 61-49, with 13 minutes, 44 seconds left in the game. The Vikings never let DSU shrink the lead to single digits again.
“(Milligen) is a very versatile scorer, who can score in a lot of ways,” Karlgaard said. “We’re still trying to figure things out and other ways they can score.”
Nonetheless, the Blue Hawks had their own saving grace in the first half. It was Dickinson native John Hanstad, who was 4 of 4 from 3-point range, with 12 points in the half. Hanstad, who has been struggling in the early parts of the season, finished with 15 points.
“I was just finally able to get back on track,” Hanstad said. “I got the little monkey off my back. Hopefully, I’ll just keep it going.”
VCSU scored 36 points in the second half and had Kueber supply 19, Aaron Duske with 12 and AJ McDonald with 10. Anthony Saavedra came off the bench to score 10 points.
“(Kueber) can score in the post and he can also shoot the three,” Karlgaard said. “It’s a continual process to build things into our offense to get him the ball in the right position.
“AJ is awfully quick and he can open the floor up for guys.”
Phillip Johnson Jr., a junior from Chicago, started in place of senior Matt Lee, a preseason all-Frontier conference selection, because of a tweaked knee and back. Johnson finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“We’ve really been focused on Phillip for the last week,” Orton said. “He’s playing his game and he’s proud of his game. He really coming on and doing some nice things for us.”
Also supplying DSU with some firepower was Jarek Hansen, a senior from Williston, with 11 points. The Blue Hawks finished with 10 turnovers and 33 rebounds.
The Blue Hawks continue their season by traveling to Black Hills State (S.D.) on Monday. DSU lost to Black Hills 75-67 on Nov. 3 at Scott Gymnasium.
“(In the preseason) we’ve seen a lot of different styles of teams,” Hanstad said. “I think we’ve had a good mix of up-tempo and slower teams.”
VALLEY CITY STATE (5-3): Dillan Ostrom 1-4 0-0 2, Gus Kueber 7-10 3-5 19, Aaron Duske 5-9 2-2 12, AJ McDonald 3-12 2-3 10, Sekani Milligen 9-17 1-3 22, Ty Pratt 0-0 0-0 0, Christopher Embden 0-1 0-0 0, Patrick Rogers 2-3 0-1 4, Anthony Saavedra 4-5 2-2 10. Totals: 31-61 10-16 79.
DICKINSON STATE (2-4): Phillip Johnson Jr. 5-9 0-0 10, Jarek Hansen 6-16 3-3 15, Ty Ackelson 2-5 2-2 6, Robbie Morey 1-3 0-0 2, John Hanstad 5-10 0-1 15, Anthony Hodges 2-6 1-1 7, Ryan Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0, Johnie Sanders 2-5 0-0 4, James Hayden 2-3 0-0 4, Brock Boos 0-1 0-0 0, Isiah Thomas 1-2 0-0 2, Tevin Russell 0-5 0-0 0, Destry Sterkel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 26-66 6-7 65.
Halftime: Score VCSU 43, DSU 40. Total fouls: VCSU 13, DSU 22. 3-point goals: VCSU 7-19 (Milligen 3-9, McDonald 2-5, Kueber 2-2, Duske 0-2, Rogers 0-1), DSU 7-18 (Hanstad 5-7, Hodges 2-4, Hansen 0-4, Russell 0-2, Boos 0-1). Rebounds: VCSU 41 (Ostrom 10), DSU 33 (Johnson 10). Assists: VCSU 18 (McDonald 4), DSU 12 (Sanders 5). Steals: VCSU 5 (Ostrom 2, Milligen 2), DSU 2 (Sanders 1, Hanstad 1). Blocks: VCSU 4 (Kueber 2), DSU 3 (three with 3). Turnovers: VCSU 9 (three with 2), DSU 10 (Sanders 4).
Tags: men's college basketball, blue hawks, sports
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