Sagan Osborne | Dickinson State Sports Information Director
WATERTOWN, S.D. – Kose Egbule scored 23 points, Gus Wright chipped in 17 off the bench, and Dickinson State came from behind to take down seventh seeded Waldorf University, 79-74, and punch their ticket to the NSAA Conference Championship Game tomorrow night against top-seeded Mayville State.
The Blue Hawks led early, jumping out to a 17-8 lead on a three-point jumper by Wright with 11:20 left in the half, but the Warriors would not go away. After upsetting second seed Viterbo in the Opening Round, Waldorf had upset on their minds again as they took a 30-28 lead on a three-pointer of their own with just over a minute left in the opening half. Two more points at the buzzer sent the teams to the locker rooms with Waldorf leading 32-28.
Another basket by the Warriors to start the half extended their lead to six, 34-28, and they maintained that lead for the next 15 minutes. With 4:52 left in the game, Tyce Dahlberg knotted the score at 62-62 on a fast break layup after a steal. A steal by Jaiden Wright on the next Waldorf possession got DSU the ball right back and Egbule connected on a pair of free throws to give DSU their first lead since the first half. Dickinson State then went 11-12 from the free throw line down the stretch to secure the win, and their berth in the title game.
Jaiden Wright finished with 10 points as the only other Blue Hawk in double figures while Christian Murphy chipped in 9 points and 10 rebounds, just narrowly missing out on a double-double.
"Our guys have zero quit in them," praised head coach Derek Selvig. "Waldorf has been the hottest team in the league at the end of the year and they are very well coached. We are the epitome of a team effort. A lot of guys stepped up, I'm just super proud."
The Blue Hawks will now take on the Comets from Mayville State with a trip to the NAIA National Tournament on the line. The two teams split the season series with the Comets winning 92-78 in Mayville and the Blue Hawks winning 68-50 in Dickinson.
