Sagan Osborne | Dickinson State Sports Information Director

ABERDEEN – John Evans knocked down the go-ahead basket with 39 seconds left, and Dickinson State (8-12, 4-3 NSAA) held on to win, 82-78, over Presentation College (5-14, 0-7) to wrap up the first trip through the North Star Athletic Association.

Both teams went back-and-forth in the early going, with Dickinson State holding a 14-11 lead on a Josiah Haaland dunk six minutes into the game. The lead changed hands a couple of times before a 7-0 Blue Hawk run gave DSU a 26-17 advantage with 6:16 left in the half. DSU held their nine-point advantage until the 4:02 mark in the half when a three-pointer from PC sparked a 13-0 run that led to the Saints holding a 32-31 advantage headed into the break.

The second half saw an offensive explosion from both teams, as DSU shot 18-27 (67 percent) and PC shot 18-31 (58 percent) to set the stage for the exciting finish. A Gus Wright jumper gave DSU their largest lead of the game, 44-34, with 17:06 left, but the Saints were far from done. A 7-0 PC run cut the Blue Hawk lead to just three before Evans connected from deep and Bradyn Palmer cashed in a jumper to push the DSU lead back out to eight. The teams went punch for punch much of the second half, but an 11-0 Saint run that ended with 6:20 left put the hosts ahead for the first time since the beginning of the half, 65-63. As was the rhythm of the game, the Blue Hawks answered with a 6-0 run of their own capped by a Kose Egbule basket to regain the lead, 69-65. Evans knocked down another shot form deep with 2:04 remaining, but the Saints responded again and forged a 78-78 tie with 1:07 left in the game. On the ensuing DSU possession, Evans hit a tough turnaround jumper in the lane to put the Blue Hawks in front with 39 seconds to go. PC got off two chances on their next possession after an offensive rebound kept them alive, but neither would fall and Christian Murphy knocked down two free throws for the final margin.

Evans finished with 21 points on 8-10 shooting for the Blue Hawks, while Gus Wright (16 points), Murphy (14), and Egbule (11) joined him in double figures. Egbule also added team highs in rebounds (6) and steals (5) to help pace Dickinson State.

WHATS NEXT

The Blue Hawks will return home for the second half of North Star Athletic Association play and will take on the same opponents from this week, Presentation and Mayville State, on Friday and Saturday, January 27-28.