The Dickinson State men's basketball team got exactly what it wanted out of Friday night's victory over Oglala Lakota College of Kyle, S.D.
It ran its offense and scored points. Lots and lots of points.
The Blue Hawks broke a four-game losing skid and flirted with a school single-game scoring record as it defeated Oglala Lakota College 117-65 in front of a sparse crowd at Scott Gymnasium.
"It was nice to know that if we run our stuff, we can score," said DSU senior John Hanstad, who had 17 points. "Just to know that if we execute, screen and move well, we can put points up if we do it. But it's a matter of doing it."
Every DSU player scored except starting junior point guard Robbie Morey, who didn't attempt a shot. He did, however, dish out four assists including a back-door, alley-oop layup by Johnie Sanders, who had 14 points and six rebounds.
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Most of DSU's production came from its bench players.
James Hayden and Brock Boos each scored 12 points. Jarek Hansen and Destry Sterkel each added 10 points.
Hanstad was 5 of 7 from 3-point range while Boos was 4 of 5. DSU was 13 of 24 as a team.
Isiah Thomas and Ty Ackelson each had nine points and Josh Williams added eight points. Sterkel, Williams and Thomas all had career highs.
"It's nice to see them get a couple points," Hanstad said. "They work just as hard, if not harder than any of us who start. It's nice to see them get some points."
Though it was a game that was well in hand early -- big runs helped DSU establish a double-digit lead 5 minutes after tipoff and that turned into a 57-30 halftime advantage -- DSU head coach Ty Orton said the Blue Hawks (4-7) were still able to glean some valuable knowledge.
"To be honest with you, right now, we learned a lot from it," Orton said.
The Blue Hawks host Jamestown College (7-6) at 6 p.m. today looking to ride the momentum gained from Friday's victory. DSU hasn't won back-to-back games this season.
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"It was a weird timing game," Orton said. "We needed a little confidence. We needed to see that we could shoot the ball, we can still play inside out, we can still play hard and we can still work on our fundamentals."
The Blue Hawks looked like they could even set a new single-game scoring record. The high mark is 124 points set in 1964, long before the introduction of the 3-point line.
DSU's starters played little in the second half as Orton put the last seven players on his bench on the floor for a majority of the final 10 minutes.
"We did the little things, for the most part," Orton said. "There were some ugly parts to the game, there's no question. It's good to see kids come in and run the stuff and it worked. It develops confidence and it's kind of a good thing."
Brice Hornbeck had a game-high 22 points for the Bravehearts (5-9) while T.J. McCauley had 21 points.
Oglala Lakota head coach Carter Dixon was not available for comment. The Bravehearts left Dickinson immediately after the game en route to New Town, where they play a doubleheader today against Fort Berthold Community College and Fort Peck Community College.
OGLALA LAKOTA COLLEGE (5-9): Steven Pourier Jr. 2-6 4-4 8, T.J. McCauley 5-12 8-10 21, Brice Hornbeck 7-14 6-6 22, Willis Zephier 3-9 1-2 7, Cody Chasing Hawk 0-0 0-0 0, Fanon Apple 0-1 0-0 0, Tim Has No Horse 1-3 1-2 3, Russell Running Hawk 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-48 20-24 65.
DICKINSON STATE (4-7): Johnie Sanders 7-8 0-0 14, Phillip Johnson Jr. 2-3 0-0 4, Ty Ackleson 3-5 3-4 9, Robbie Morey 0-0 0-0 0, John Hanstad 6-8 0-0 17, Anthony Hodges 1-4 0-0 2, Ryan Sullivan 2-2 1-2 5, James Hayden 4-9 3-4 12, Brock Boos 4-6 0-0 12, Isiah Thomas 3-7 3-4 9, Josh Williams 3-7 1-2 8, Jarek Hansen 3-7 1-2 10, Jeremy Samuelson 1-2 1-2 3, Timmy Benedict 0-2 2-4 2, Destry Sterkel 4-5 0-0 10. Totals 44-72 16-24 117.
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Halftime: DSU 57-30. Total fouls: OLC 19, DSU 16. 3-point goals: OLC 4-15 (Hornbeck 2-4, Zephier 0-2, Has No Horse 0-1, McCauley 3-8), DSU 13-24 (Ackelson 0-1, Hanstad 5-7, Hodges 0-3, Hayden 1-4, Boos 4-5, Williams 1-1, Sterkel 2-3). Rebounds: OLC 19 (Hornbeck 4), DSU 39 (Sanders 6). Assists: OLC 3 (McCauley 2), DSU 22 (Morey 4). Steals: OLC 6 (Hornbeck 3), DSU 15 (Sanders 3). Blocks: OLC 2 (Hornbeck, McCauley), DSU 0. Turnovers: OLC 20 (Hornbeck 7), DSU 14 (Johnson 3).
