Sagan Osborne | Dickinson State Sports Information Director
MAYVILLE – Gus Wright scored 18 points off the bench, and pulled down five rebounds, but the Blue Hawks were unable to get past a hot-shooting Mayville State team in Mayville, N.D. on Friday.
John Evans and Josiah Haaland scored the first 15 points of the game for the Blue Hawks, as an early 9-3 lead turned into a 15-15 tie at the 14:56 mark of the first half. Gus Wright knocked down a three to break the trend and regain the lead, 18-17, after a brief Mayville State lead. The lead changed hands back-and-forth again, with Kose Egbule giving the Blue Hawks a 20-19 lead with 12:21 to go in the first half. From there, both offenses really found their rhythm, but Mayville State was able to make more plays down the stretch, as they headed into the locker room up 50-37.
The Blue Hawks got within six, 50-44, after a 7-0 run, capped by a Christian Murphy lay-up, started the second half. MSU immediately countered with a 10-2 run of their own to stretch their lead back out to 16 with 12:15 left in the game. The momentum evened out from there, as the Comets held on to their double-digit lead until the five-minute mark when a Gus Wright jumper pulled DSU to within nine, 77-68. An Egbule dunk made it 79-71 with just under four minutes to go, but the Comets again responded, stretching their lead back out to 12 two possessions later. DC Stewart connected from long range to again bring the deficit back under ten, 83-74, but the teams traded baskets the rest of the way and the Comets came away with the home victory.
Evans poured in 16 points on 6-13 shooting, and Murphy had 11 and seven rebounds, but 27 points from Mayville State guard Trent Blackshire proved too much to overcome on a night where both teams shot the ball extremely well. DSU finished the game 33-65 (51%) from the field, while MSU shot 35-59 (59%). A 37-29 edge in rebounding for the Comets went a long way in determining the outcome of the game.
WHATS NEXT
The Blue Hawks will head to Aberdeen, S.D. to take on Presentation College on Saturday at 4:00 pm MT.
