VALLEY CITY, N.D -- The University of Providence men's basketball team fell to Valley City State 80-88 Saturday night.

The Vikings (5-9) scored the first basket of the game but a layup on the other end from junior Marcus Lawson tied the game at two.

Each side went back-and-forth with ties at 13, 15, 17, until a 7-0 run from Valley City State gave the Vikings a 24-17 lead.

Over the next five minutes the Argos (2-13) outscored the Vikings 14-7 behind an and one from senior Jakub Lloyd and a triple from junior Jermaine Rogers II to put UP in front 31-30.

Both teams traded baskets but the Vikings ended the half on a 13-2 run as UP trailed Valley City State 49-38 heading into the break.

Valley City pushed the lead out to 13 to begin the second half, but the Argos slowly cut into the advantage over the next 10 minutes with a layup from Lloyd and a jumper from Lawson shortening the edge to 74-65.

The Argos cut the lead down to seven with three minutes left, but a pair of threes from the Vikings was too much down the stretch as UP fell to Valley City State 88-80.  

Four Argos reached double-digit scoring with junior Marcus Lawson leading the way with 25 points, sophomore Quinn Swanson tallied 15, and juniors Jermaine Rogers II and Marvel Chambers Jr. added 11 apiece.

The Argos will be back in action Friday, Jan. 9 when they head to Butte, Mont. Tip-off is scheduled from 5:00 pm. (MST) versus #19 Montana Tech.