VALLEY CITY -- Dickinson State thought it could walk away with two upsets during its weekend road trip. But after losing to Jamestown College on Friday, things looked bleak for the Blue Hawks.
However, DSU caught fire against Valley City State on Saturday night and defeated the Vikings 84-77 at Osmond Fieldhouse.
"We played about as well as we've ever played on offense," DSU coach Scott Berry said.
Four Blue Hawks scored in double figures. Senior guard Roger Russaw led DSU with 22 points and six rebounds.
"He did a great job with the back-door cuts," Russaw said. "He got a lot of real nice, easy shots."
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Senior forwards Cameron Rowland and Donny English each had 14 points and senior guard Josh McLeod added 10 points.
DSU (8-16, 5-6 DAC) came out firing in the first half, shooting 57 percent.
The Blue Hawks coupled it with a full-court press that took the Vikings out of rhythm. VCSU shot just 32 percent.
"It was one of those games that just kind of worked out for us," Berry said.
Brady Ernst and Justin Curry each scored 20 points for the Vikings. Ernst, a Dickinson Trinity graduate, went 7 of 10 from the free-throw line and played only 10 minutes off the bench.
DSU led by as much as 16 in the second half.
It had a 66-50 lead with less than 10 minutes to play, but VCSU cut the lead slowly.
The Vikings (12-12, 7-4 DAC), closed the gap to seven on a couple occasions, but never threatened the lead.
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With three games - all of them at friendly Scott Gymnasium - remaining in the regular season, the Blue Hawks have a shot to finish as high as third in the DAC. That would mean a home playoff game.
However, they host South Dakota Tech and Black Hills State in a doubleheader next weekend and then play Minot State the Thursday after that.
"There's always hope," Berry said.
