Dickinson State men's basketball coach Ty Orton wanted to emphasize defense against Valley City State.
His game plan played out nicely Wednesday night at Scott Gymnasium.
The Blue Hawks held the Vikings to their worst offensive output of the season and snapped a three-game skid with a 64-50 Dakota Athletic Conference victory.
"Defense is our game, and if we're not playing team defense, we're not playing well," Orton said. "Defense helps our offense."
It sure did in the second half, when the Blue Hawks shot 14 of 22 (64 percent) from the field and pulled away early with a 14-1 run.
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Senior forward Mark Versen broke a 28-28 tie with a 3-pointer with 14:08 left in the second half and gradually over the next 5 minutes, the Blue Hawks built a 42-29 lead.
DSU (15-10, 8-3 DAC) felt little pressure after that point.
"The game was going to be decided by the team that was going to have one run," VCSU coach Jeff Kaminsky said. "They got it and we didn't."
But one run didn't do it all for DSU.
Along with allowing season lows of 20 first-half points and 50 points in a game, the Blue Hawks also held a 44-26 edge on the boards.
The Vikings (12-13, 5-6 DAC) had just three offensive rebounds.
"We said a couple things beforehand," Orton said. "We said our wings need to clean up. They should at least get a minimum of seven (rebounds). Tomaul (Hawkins) and Josh (Walker) had 21 total."
The duo also teamed with sophomore guard Nathan Lebsock to lead a second-half scoring surge.
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Hawkins had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Walker had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Lebsock had 13 points, including a back-to-back 3-pointer and fadeaway jumper during DSU's game-changing run.
"Staying on the boards and rebounding was a big issue," said Hawkins, who also shot 7 of 8 from the free-throw line, had five assists, three blocks and two steals.
While DSU held a 24-15 edge on the boards in the first half, they still struggled putting the ball in the basket.
The Blue Hawks led 22-20 at halftime, their second lowest first-half scoring total of the season, after shooting just 7 of 28 (25 percent) from the field.
It was the kind of start Orton was worried about after Monday's snowstorm forced DSU to call off school Tuesday, prohibiting the team to hold an organized practice.
However, Orton said several members of the team gathered at the West River Community Center without coaches on Tuesday afternoon just so they could have a shootaround.
"That kind of showed what type of kids we have," Orton said. "They wanted to get better. They're a good bunch of guys and they deserve this win."
But another big game looms on the horizon for the Blue Hawks.
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DSU hosts Jamestown College (10-13, 3-7 DAC) at 6 p.m. Saturday in its final home game of the regular season.
After snapping the losing skid, Hawkins said the Blue Hawks know just how important a win would be as they try to secure a first-round home game in the DAC playoffs.
"We've got to come out and be ready to do what we do best or it'll be a long game," Hawkins said.
Dickinson State 64, Valley City State 50
VCSU (11-14 overall, 5-6 DAC): Orlando Anderson 5-7 2-3 12, Daroon Spencer 2-6 5-6 9, Mark Klingberg 3-8 2-2 8, Zac Wolff 2-5 1-3 5, Calvin Kraft 2-6 0-0 5, Mike Stowman 1-8 1-2 4, Demetrius Young 1-4 1-3 3, Scott Jesser 1-1 0-0 2, Mike York 1-2 0-0 2, Joseph Bateman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-47 13-21 50.
DSU (15-10, 8-3): Tomaul Hawkins 4-9 7-8 15, Nathan Lebsock 5-12 2-2 13, Josh Walker 3-8 5-9 11, Sean Burnham 4-7 1-4 9, Branden Thomas 3-5 1-2 7, Mark Versen 2-3 0-0 6, Brian Lebsock 0-2 3-4 3, Derek Pauley 0-2 0-1 0, Jeremy Mallard 0-1 0-0 0, Alois Anton Neff 0-0 0-0 0, Fred Scheltinga 0-0 0-2 0, Ryan Ernst 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 21-50 19-32 64.
Halftime: DSU 22, VCSU 20. Total fouls: VCSU 25, DSU 21. 3-point goals: VCSU 1-10 (Stowman 1-5, Kraft 0-4, Spencer 0-1), DSU 3-8 (Versen 2-2, Lebsock 1-3, Hawkins 0-5). Rebounds: VCSU 26 (Stowman 8), DSU 44 (Walker 11, Hawkins 10). Assists: VCSU 4 (York 2), DSU 10 (Hawkins 5). Steals: VCSU 5 (Anderson 3), DSU 8 (Burnham 3). Blocks: VCSU 1 (Wolff), DSU 4 (Hawkins 3). Turnovers: VCSU 13, DSU 12.
