Jimmies knock off No. 19 Valley City State

Mark Hoge and Davon Thomas don’t come off the court much for the Jimmies.

The two junior standouts combined for more than 83 minutes on the floor Wednesday night and the Jimmies needed every one of them.

Hoge sank two late free throws to put Jamestown College up 66-65 and then the Jimmies came up with a game-winning stop against Valley City State ace Sekani Milligen for a much needed overtime victory over the No. 19 Vikings.

“I don’t ever want to come off the court. I love to play, I don’t want to sit,” Hoge said. “Whatever it takes for us to win I want to do. Really, that’s the bottom line.”

Thomas was equally big.

Giving away 4-plus inches to VCSU big man Gus Kueber, Thomas poured in a game-best 19 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, more than anybody else, and held his own against the talented Kueber.

“Hoge and I have to be leaders. Our team is young. He and I have been around. It’s our job to come through, just like our teammates came through for us tonight,” Thomas said.

The 1-point differential came as no surprise. In the three games the two teams have played this season they’ve been separated by a single point.

“They’re top 20 in the country for a reason, they’re good,” said JC coach Justin Wieck, fighting through a tough stomach virus himself. “I’m proud of my guys. To beat a team like that two out of three is not easy. The key for us now is how we handle success. That’s something we haven’t always done as well as we needed to this season.”

For more, read Thursday's edition of the Sun.

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