MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's basketball team were overmatched inside on Wednesday night in a 93-61 loss to Valley City State University. The Vikings scored 54 points in the paint and had a 51-33 rebounding edge as they sent the Cougars to 7-5 overall on the season.

Neither team started fast on the offensive end and more than two minutes went by before Valley City State scored the first points of the night. An Ian Fahje free throw and Pal Dak layup then gave Minnesota Morris its lone lead of the night, 3-2, at the 16:48 mark of the first half. The Vikings answered back with a bucket on the other end that started a 7-0 run.

When Jack Manning made a pair of free throws with 12:19 to go in the first half, the Cougar deficit was just three at 13-10. However, a 10-0 run from VCSU ensued. The lead remained in double-digits the rest of the night and the Vikings went to the break with a 53-29 cushion.

The Cougars came out of the break with an immediate 9-0 run sparked by Brian LaRoche, Jr., LeRoy Staples-Fairbanks, Samuel Daho, and Manning. Minnesota Morris would scrap to stay within 15 points on two other occasions in the second half, but Valley City State eventually just had too much firepower and pulled away gradually throughout the remainder of the game.

Tarik Iyob led Minnesota Morris in points and rebounds on the night with 16 and eight. Manning added 10 points as the other Cougar in double-figures. The top four scorers on the night for UMN Morris all came off the bench as Staples-Fairbanks added eight and LaRoche, Jr. had seven.

UMAC play resumes on Saturday afternoon when Minnesota Morris travels to Crown College to face the Polars at 4:45 p.m. in St. Bonifacius.