Blue Hawks defense holds #1 Mayville State to 50 Points in statement win

Jan. 30—DICKINSON, N.D. — The Dickinson State Blue Hawks (10-12, 6-3) made a statement on Saturday evening, as they dominated the North Star Athletic Association leader Mayville State Comets (17-5, 7-2) with a 68-50 victory.

The Comets entered the game with a potent offense, averaging 99 points per game. But the Blue Hawks' suffocating defense and tenacious hustle held Mayville State to a mere 50 points on 18-62 (29%) shooting from the field.

Leading the charge for the Blue Hawks was Gus Wright, who dropped 16 points and grabbed 8 boards. John Evans and Kose Egbule also made an impact, with 12 and 11 points respectively.

From the jump, the Blue Hawks established control, as Wright drained a three-pointer to give them a 15-6 lead just five minutes into the game. Despite the Comets breaking the 10-point mark with 10:35 left in the first half, the Blue Hawks still held a comfortable 21-11 advantage.

The DSU offense hit a rough patch as Mayville State pulled within two, 21-19, with 4:51 remaining in the half. But the Blue Hawks responded with three clutch free throws to go back up by five. The Comets made a layup just before halftime to make it a 30-27 lead for the Blue Hawks at the break.

Mayville State briefly got to within two, 34-32, four minutes into the second half, but the Blue Hawks quickly regained control with a 10-2 run. Jake Daniel drilled a three-pointer to give the Blue Hawks a 17-point lead with 8:50 left in the game, and Evans hit a triple with 4:45 remaining to extend the lead to a game-high 23 points.

The packed Scott Gym was a sea of noise all night, as the crowd helped to propel the Blue Hawks to their dominant upset.

Head Coach Derek Selvig thanked the students and community for their support, calling the outpouring of support "cool to see."

The Blue Hawks will hit the road for their final road trip of the season, as they head east to take on Viterbo University and Waldorf University on February 3-4.

Game Leaders

Mayville State:

Pts: Sebastian Griffin — 10

Reb: 2 Players (#12, #21) — 7

Ast: Sebastian Griffin — 3

Dickinson State:

Pts: Gus Wright — 16

Reb: 3 Players (#TM, #2, #20) — 8

Ast: John Evans — 3

Team Stats:

Mayville State / Dickinson State

Field Goals: (18-62) / (27-60)

Field Goal %: 29.0% / 45.0%

Rebounds: 40 / 48

Assists: 7 / 10

Turnovers: 20 / 23

Pts off Turnovers 14 / 8

2nd Chance Pts 9 / 6

Pts in the Paint 30 / 38

Bench Pts 17 / 17