Dickinson State Uses Final Push to Hold off Waldorf

DICKINSON, N.D. – The Warriors never could get the edge Friday night on the court. Dickinson State drained a pair of 3-pointers to start the contest and used one final push with five minutes left to separate for the men's basketball victory, 78-66, over Waldorf University.

The host Blue Hawks (14-10/5-4 North Star Athletic Association) hit two treys to open the first 2:10 of the game and never trailed. Waldorf battled right back to within two points and pulled to as close as a single point, 43-42, with 14:18 remaining, but it never could grab the advantage. Leading 62-59 with 5:22 showing, Dickinson State posted the next nine tallies and sealed the win with the separation.

Khyle Washington led three double-figure Waldorf scorers with 13 points to go with four rebounds and four assists. Ugo Ejofor recorded another double-double of 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting and 14 rebounds. Off the bench, Justin Wiggins added 11 points. Behind a pair of 3-pointers, Noah Miller chipped in eight points and swiped three passes, while Khalil Grayson finished with seven points. Kaelon Harkema rounded out the Warriors with six points and four caroms.

Dickinson State's Jaiden Wright led all scorers with 14 points. The Blue Hawks connected on 12 of 20 from long-range, six more made 3-pointers than their visitors.

After answering back with four points to make it 6-4 five minutes into the night, Waldorf cut the first-half margin down to two twice, 9-11 on a Washington trey and 13-11 on a Ejofor bucket. Dickinson State ran off eight-straight points following the Ejofor score for a 21-11 lead before the largest margin of 13 points, 30-17.

In the second stanza, Washington completed a 3-point play to make it 43-39, before he stole the ensuing Dickinson State possession and Miller hit the jumper for a 43-42 score with 14:18 left to go. The Blue Hawks, though, put the next six points on the scoreboard and held the visitors at arms length until the 9-0 run with just over five minutes in the contest.

Waldorf moves on to try for a weekend road split on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 10) in a 5:00 p.m. tip-off at Valley City State.

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