DES MOINES, IOWA – The Vikings hosted Culver-Stockton for their Heart of America Conference opener on Friday afternoon. In a tightly contested battle, Grand View held off a late Wildcat rally to secure a 78-73 victory. The win improved the Vikings to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
The game started evenly with Joe Knutson scoring the first basket for Grand View. After Culver-Stockton tied it at 2-2, Daviyon Gaston drew a foul and converted both free throws to give the Vikings a 4-2 lead. The Wildcats briefly took a 6-4 lead, but Gaston answered with back-to-back layups to put Grand View ahead 8-6.
Grand View began to pull away midway through the first half. After a steal by Gaston led to a fast-break layup, the Vikings led 10-8. Matthew Watters scored inside to extend the lead to 12-8. James Ogrodnik added another layup to make it 14-11, and Gaston hit a jumper to push the advantage to 16-11.
The Vikings offense caught fire as their defense forced turnovers. Rodell Davis Jr. drained a three-pointer assisted by Ogrodnik to make it 21-11. After a steal by Lukas Helms, Ogrodnik threw down a dunk assisted by Riley Edwards, extending the lead to 23-11. Davis hit another three-pointer assisted by Edwards to push it to 30-16.
Jaxson Young scored inside to make it 32-16. Grand View's largest lead came at 34-16 when Ogrodnik scored with 6:22 remaining in the half. Edwards hit a three-pointer assisted by Young to extend the lead to 37-19. Ogrodnik added another three assisted by Young to make it 40-23. Edwards hit a three-pointer with three seconds left to give Grand View a commanding 43-32 halftime lead.
The second half started with Helms scoring on a fast break assisted by Gaston to make it 45-34. After a steal by Knutson, Young connected on a three-pointer assisted by Carson Bennett to extend the lead to 48-34. Young stayed hot, scoring inside to make it 52-38, then adding another layup with an assist from Knutson to push the lead to 56-38. Bennett hit a three-pointer assisted by Edwards to make it 61-54.
Culver-Stockton began to chip away at the lead, eventually tying the game at 67-67 with 6:05 remaining. After a steal by Davis, Helms scored on a fast break assisted by Davis to tie it at 67-67 with 5:10 left.
Davis scored inside to give Grand View a 69-67 lead. After Culver-Stockton tied it at 69-69, Gaston scored inside to put the Vikings ahead 71-69 at the 1:22 mark. Gaston came through again with a layup to extend the lead to 73-71 with 58 seconds left.
After a Culver-Stockton miss, Helms was fouled and hit both free throws to make it 75-71 with 35 seconds remaining. Gaston stole the ball and found O'Shawn Jones-Winslow for a layup to extend the lead to 77-73. Gaston sealed the game with a free throw, and Grand View held on for the 78-73 conference-opening victory.
GAME NOTES
- Daviyon Gaston led Grand View with 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists
- Jaxson Young recorded 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists
- Lukas Helms added 10 points and 6 rebounds
- Rodell Davis Jr. contributed 10 points and 2 rebounds
- James Ogrodnik scored 11 points
- Grand View's bench outscored Culver-Stockton 33-11
- The Vikings scored 24 points off turnovers compared to Culver-Stockton's 5
UP NEXT
The Vikings will play again on Wednesday, Novermeber 19th. That game will be on the road against Clarke Univeristy at 7:30 PM.
