St. Cloud, Minn. – The St. Cloud State men’s basketball team held off a tenacious Valley City State University squad to post an 80-74 non-conference win Monday night at Halenbeck Hall.

St. Cloud State improved to 4-0 overall and are undefeated on their home court this season. The Vikings are 6-3 overall. The Huskies will open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play on Friday, Dec. 2 when they host the University of Mary.

St. Cloud State saw an 11-point second half lead drop to two points, 76-74 in the final 4:34 of the game. St. Cloud State senior guard Brett Putz (Forest City, Iowa) nailed a three-point basket at the 4:34 mark to give the Huskies a 71-60 lead. Valley City State went on a run with Sylvester Walker, Aaron Duske and Sekani Milligen scoring four points each. Milligen made two free throw with :12 seconds on the clock to close to 76-74.

St. Cloud State junior guard Shaun Jensen (Spring Lake Park) and junior forward Theo Rothstein (St. Michael) each made two free throws in the final eight seconds to gain the win.

The Huskies led 34-25 at the half. St. Cloud State shot an impressive 58.7 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range. The Huskies had a slight rebounding edge of 30-29 in the game.

Jensen led the Huskies with a career high 20 points and six assists, and sophomore center Tim Bergstraser (St. Cloud) had 18 points and nine rebounds. Both marks were one shy of his career highs. Putz finished the game with 14 points and Rothstein had 11 points.

Milligen led Valley City State with 21 points. Duske finished with 17 and Walker had 11 points and nine rebounds. The Vikings shot 41.1 percent from the field.