Dickinson State beat Bellevue at home

The women’s game was almost a 20 point victory, while the mens was decided by a late lead.

Dickinson State (3-16, 1-1) 69, Bellevue University (7-10, 0-2) 50

Dickinson State ended a four game losing streak in their season, but also against their opponent after defeating Bellevue 69-50. They had not gotten the best of the Bruins since January 2020.

Head coach Eric Nelson said he was especially proud of his team’s defensive habits, collecting 15 points off turnovers and that their non-conference matches had led up to this triumph.

“I thought we played really well defensively. To hold a college team to 50 points is pretty good so I think that we executed our defensive game plan really well,” Nelson said. “That is why we played a really tough non-conference schedule to prepare us for our conference game and I think that showed tonight,”

The first quarter saw the lead switch back-and-forth five times in the first six minutes, but the Blue Hawks stapled their winning lead from a three-point shot made by Lauren Baumgerger at 4:04 to make it 12-10. DSU would go on a 12-2 run of points capped off with another three-point splash, taken at the buzzer by Sunshine Vicente.

DSU continued on their war path in the second quarter allowing Bellevue only seven points while tallying 18 for themselves. They had 16 rebounds in the second, 15 of which were defensive.

The Bruins put pressure on the Blue Hawks early. DSU leading scorer Courtney Olson accumulated 9 points in the second quarter and a total of 19 going into the second half. As a team DSU went 7-for-10 at the line in the first half. With less than two minutes remaining, they were up by 20 points at 38-18.

A Blue Hawk 3-pointer, this time from Mackenzi Reed would bring a Bellevue timeout, but one more make from the charity stripe finished the first half 42-20.

The Bruins struck first in the second half with a shot from beyond the arc and were able to score more points than Dickinson in the final quarter with a 14-10 run of points, but it was too little too late with the game finishing 69-50.

Dickinson State was the more accurate team particularly at the line, going 10-for-16 compared to 10-for-18 for Bellevue. The other major difference was six additional turnovers the Bruins had over DSU. Not only was it a 19 point win, but was one of team effort with points coming from all around.

Olson was 4-for-6 at the line with seven rebounds. Mackenzie Reed, Lilly Kelley and McKenzie Johnson each scored seven points. Kelley, Ashlie Watts and Sunshine Vicente had two steals each and collectively had 11 points.

“Courtney had a really good game. She scored 22 points and then we got a lot of other contributions from a lot of other girls,” Nelson said. “It was good to see a lot of people get into the scoring action.”

Dickinson State (4-12 1-1) 70, Bellevue (9-8, 1-1) 62

A spectacular battle between the two North Star Conference teams ended with the Blue Hawks victorious. Despite fighting from behind for the majority of the game, DSU would find themselves leading at the end of both halves. They collected 10 steals and 22 points off turnovers.

Head coach Derek Selvig was pleased with how his team faced the pacy and sharp shooting Bruin team.

“We've been in a lot of games like that where we didnt get over the hump and we learned from those. I played 11 guys, they all played hard defensively and I am just super excited for our guys and the effort that they showed.” Selvig said. “They (Bellevue) play a lot of guards and it kind of worried me that maybe we weren't going to move our feet as well, but our guys did a good job at holding that team to 62 points … They are good and are going to win a lot of games in our conference and we are thrilled to get this one and the credit goes to our players.”

The Blue Hawks found themselves with a deficit of 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the first half, but free throws would keep them afloat, going 8-for-12. Bellevue relied heavily on field goals with only two shots from the line, making just one.

Aushanti Potts-Woods tied it back up at 25 after DSU went on a six-point run, but Bellevue would take the lead once again with less than five minutes remaining. The two teams would match each other’s score three times when Dickinson’s Bryce Knox would take the lead from the charity stripe to make it 34-32 going into the second half.

Just like the first half, the Bruins quickly took a nine-point lead at 11:26.

Suddenly the Blue Hawks would go on a hot streak of 14 points to re-establish their lead by five points with five minutes remaining. Jalon Tinnin contributed six of the points with two free-throws and two baskets.

With the score at 61-56, Bellevue missed six-straight shots, half coming from beyond the arc. Their final six points would all come from the line. Dickinson State made their final four shots toeing the line as well.

It was a competitive match that also had its injuries. Potts-Woods took a heavy fall landing awkwardly on his arm in the second and had to be subbed out for the remainder of the game.

“He is feeling okay. Shoulder is a little bit banged up, but we will evaluate it tonight and tomorrow morning,” Selvig siad. “He is a tough guy and I think he will be alright.”

DSU's top scorer was Tinnin with 16 points, going 6-for-8 at the line and was just as effective defensively with five rebounds, two steals. Travon Hamiliton was second in points with 12 and shot 2-for-3 from 3-point range. Bryce Knox led in steals with three and tallied 11 points.

Both Dickinson State basketball programs will continue conference play on Saturday against Dakota State University.