Viking Men down Oak Hills Christian, College,Tues

VALLEY CITY  (VCSU)  – Three days after seeing their 9-game winning streak come to an end, the Valley City State men’s basketball team was back to its winning ways Tuesday

All 14 Vikings scored Tuesday night as Valley City State coasted to its 10th win of the season, a 105-48 victory over Oak Hills Christian College.

“It was nice to have all our guys back,” said VCSU head coach Ryan Montgomery, whose team has played shorthanded the last three contests. “We learned a lot in this game about what it means to play with others instead of individual play.”

The Vikings, who are receiving votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll, improve to 10-2 overall this season. Oak Hills drops to 4-8.

VCSU leading scorer Eddie Oyet – who missed the last three games – wasted little time in finding his groove again. The 6-foot-3 junior scored a team-high 23 points off the bench Tuesday. Oyet has now scored double figures in seven straight games – including four games over 20 points.

Chris Thompson added 14 points, and Connor Entzi poured in 12. All 14 Vikings who played in the game scored at least two points, and 12 different players had at least one assist. Jalen Addison led the distribution with five assists while Joshua Kelly tallied four assists.

The Vikings forced 19 first-half turnovers as they built a 53-22 lead at the break and coasted in the second half. VCSU dished out 27 assists on 43 made baskets and forced Oak Hills into 27 turnovers in the game. The 105 points was a season-high for VCSU.

Valley City State shot 51 percent from the field (43-85), 36 percent on 3’s (15-42) and 80 percent at the line (4-5). Oak Hills shot 28 percent overall (17-60), 27 percent on 3’s (10-37) and 80 percent on free throws (4-5).

Valley City State now shifts its focus to a big conference weekend at home. The Vikings host Waldorf University on Friday and then host Viterbo University on Saturday. Viterbo and Waldorf are both 1-2 in conference play while the Vikings are 2-1 in the North Star Athletic Association.

“This game helped us get ready for Friday and Saturday,” said Montgomery. “We’re going to face a hot Waldorf team Friday and a disciplined Viterbo team on Saturday. ”

Up next: Valley City State resumes conference play with a pair of home games this weekend. Friday’s doubleheader against Waldorf starts with the women at 5:30 p.m. and the men at 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s games against Viterbo are at 3 and 5 p.m.