DUBUQUE, IOWA – The Grand View men's basketball team earned a hard-fought 71-58 road victory over Clarke University on Tuesday night at the Kehl Center in their second conference game of the season.

The Vikings got off to a slow start, missing their first few shots before Daviyon Gaston knocked down a three-pointer to give Grand View a 3-2 lead.  Lukas Helms scored back-to-back layups to give the Vikings a 7-6 advantage early. However, Clarke responded with a run to build a 12-7 lead midway through the first half. Grand View battled back as Jaxson Young provided energy in the paint with layups, and Rodell Davis Jr. came off the bench to spark the offense. Davis Jr. drained a three-pointer assisted by Young to bring the Vikings within two at 18-13, then added another triple to cut it to 18-16. Young converted a layup to tie the game at 18-18, and Helms added another basket to knot the score at 20-20. Young scored again to give Grand View a 22-20 lead, and Matthew Watters chipped in with a layup to push the advantage to 24-23. Gaston hit a crucial three-pointer to give the Vikings a 27-28 lead, and Davis Jr. converted two free throws to tie the game at 31-31. The Vikings closed the half strong as Gaston scored a layup to give Grand View a 38-35 lead, and O'Shawn Jones-Winslow added a putback layup to send the Vikings into halftime with a 40-37 advantage.

Grand View came out of the half strong, starting with an early Gaston layup to extend the lead to 42-37, and Joe Knutson added a jumper to push it to 44-37. The Vikings' defense tightened up, forcing turnovers and creating transition opportunities. Gaston continued his strong play with another layup to make it 47-42, and Helms converted a basket in the paint to extend the lead to 49-45. Davis Jr. hit a three-pointer assisted by Gaston to push the advantage to 57-52, and the Vikings began to pull away. Gaston scored back-to-back layups to extend the lead to 59-52 and then 63-54, showcasing his ability to attack the basket. Knutson dominated inside with consecutive layups, pushing the lead to 61-52 and then 65-55. The Vikings continued to build their advantage as Helms added a layup to make it 67-55 and hit a jumper to extend the lead to 69-55. Gaston sealed the victory with two free throws to make it 71-55, and Grand View cruised to the finish line with a commanding 13-point road victory.

GAME NOTES:

• Daviyon Gaston led all scorers with 24 points on 9 of 15 shooting, hitting 3-of-6 three-pointers, and added 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 steals.
• Lukas Helms contributed 13 points on 6 of 12 shooting and grabbed 1 rebound with 2 blocks and a steal.
• Rodell Davis Jr. chipped in 12 points off the bench.
• Joe Knutson added 8 points on 4 of 4 shooting and pulled down 2 rebounds with 4 steals.
• The Vikings dominated in the paint, outscoring Clarke 44-28, and forced 24 turnovers that led to 24 points. Grand View held a 29-7 advantage in bench points.
• The Vikings improved their record in conference play to 2-0 with the road victory.

WHATS NEXT?

The Vikings hit the road again on November 22nd, where they face the Spartans of Missouri Baptist.