Valley City – Dickinson State shot 56 percent Wednesday night as the Blue Hawks held off Valley City State in NSAA men’s basketball action.

VCSU’s Cleveland Bedgood poured in a game-high 28 points – including 21 in the second half – but Dickinson State’s hot shooting carried the Blue Hawks to an 89-79 win at VCSU.

Valley City State drops to 10-11 overall and 2-5 in conference play. Dickinson State moves to 13-9 overall and 4-3 in the conference.

Dickinson State made its first four 3-pointers as the Blue Hawks started hot and built a 16-6 lead less than four minutes into the game. The Vikings responded with an 11-0 to take their first lead of the game after Agwa Nywesh capped the run with a bucket at the 12:29 mark. That set off a back-and-forth first half that featured six ties and six lead changes. A 3-pointer by Dickinson’s DC Stewart just before halftime gave Dickinson a 47-41 lead at the break.

Dickinson extended its lead to as many as 10 points at 55-45 with 14 minutes remaining. The Vikings hung tough and eventually put together a 12-4 run that tied at game at 63-63 on Lamar Grayson’s bucket with 6:50 to go. Dickinson State responded with five straight of its own to go back up 68-63.

With 1:55 remaining, the Blue Hawks put the game out of reach at the free throw line after three consecutive technical fouls were whistled against the Vikings. Dickinson’s Josiah Haaland and VCSU’s Odier Olange were involved in a loose ball scramble on the floor with Holland continuing to roll and fight for the ball after the whistle blew. After a long discussion by the officials, VCSU’s Ousseynou Ngom was whistled for a technical foul with the officials saying he came in and grabbed Holland’s leg during the play. VCSU head coach Ryan Montgomery was then hit with two technical fouls as he argued that call.

Dickinson State’s Jaiden Wright made four of the six technical foul shots, giving the Blue Hawks a commanding 77-67 lead.

Bedgood’s 28 points led all scorers. Lamar Grayson turned in a 16-point night off the bench for VCSU, and Agwa Nywesh finished with 10 points and two assists. Caden Grinde and Hunter Lyman both added eight points and four rebounds, and LaDarious Stanfield had a team-high six rebounds and six points.

Jaiden Wright led Dickinson with 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Trey Steven made eight free throws and had 19 points. Cardell Vinson finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, and Haaland had 12 points and six rebounds.

VCSU shot 49 percent overall (33-67), 33 percent on 3’s (4-12) and 82 percent at the line (9-11). The Blue Hawks shot 63 percent in the first half and 56 percent overall (32-57). They were 47 percent from 3-point range (9-19) and 16-for-20 at the line.

Up next: Valley City State is on the road for a doubleheader at Mayville State on Friday, Feb. 2. The women tip at 5:30 p.m. with the men to follow at 7:30 p.m.