Viking Men Drop NSAA Semifinal to Bellevue 73-63

(VCSU) Men's basketball team ended its season Thursday, falling to Bellevue in the NSAA semifinal, 73-63.

Valley City State finishes the season with a 19-7 overall record and a 9-5 record in conference play. Bellevue advances to the NSAA Championship, hosting Dakota State on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Hunter Sand posted a double-double off the Viking bench Thursday, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Kevin Schramm scored a team-high 18 points and Chris Thompson added 12. Jalen Addison scored eight points and dished out a team-high four assists Thursday.

The Vikings started out strong, shooting 58 percent in the first half as a team and collecting 13 points from Schramm. Trailing 22-18, a layup from Thompson sparked a 15-2 Viking run to take a 33-24 lead with five minutes before halftime. Bellevue finished the half with a 6-2 run to close the gap to just five points as VCSU led 41-36.

The Bruins opened the second half with an 18-5 run over the first eight minutes to hold a 54-46 lead. The Vikings got back within three points on a put-back from Sand with 8:51 to play, but never recovered down the stretch as the Bruins held the Vikings to shooting just 29 percent over the final 20 minutes to come away with the victory.

Valley City State shot 44 percent in the game (27-62), 25 percent on three-pointers (4-16), and 83 percent from the free throw line (5-6). Bellevue shot 52 percent from the field (28-54), 28 percent on threepointers (7-25), and 71 percent on free throws (10-14).