Mankato, Minn. - In Minnesota, the start of season often refers to hunting season. It is a time filled with much anticipation and excitement. For the Bethany Lutheran men’s basketball program, this weekend feels a lot like the start of hunting season. The question is, will the Vikings be the hunters or the hunted?
Fresh off a 13-1 league record and their first-ever Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Regular Season Championship, the Vikings have been picked first in the preseason conference coaches’ poll. With an extremely challenging non-conference schedule ahead of them, Bethany will begin the hunt for their second UMAC championship and that elusive NCAA tournament berth on November 15th.
The Vikings will not be easing their way into the season. Opening weekend has the Vikings slated to take on two of the region’s best teams. The hunt begins Thursday night as BLC welcomes in St. Olaf for the home opener. The Oles are coming off a tremendous season of their own as they finished just one game out of first in the always tough Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a 15-5 league record. The Oles are led by 6-6 third-year starting forward Connor Gunderson, sophomore point guard Sterling Nielsen and junior sharp shooter Nathan Kuck. Incoming recruit Justin Pahl holds the Minnesota High School record for consecutive three pointers made with 13. The Oles roughed up the Vikings in Northfield a year ago by the score of 71-50. Bethany will look to return the favor in front of the home crowd and the raucous Red Sea student section this time around. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Sports and Fitness Center.
It will be a quick turn-around for the Vikings as they head just ten miles north to St. Peter on Saturday for their road opener at rival Gustavus Adolphus. The Gusties are coming off a 20-8 season, 16-4 in the MIAC which led to a conference championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament last March. Gustavus welcomes back three of their top five scorers from that championship squad. Seniors Ben Biewen and Blake Shay both had ten points while Jim Hill had 18 in their 70-61 exhibition win over division II Minnesota-Crookston last week. Gustavus will look to their youngsters to provide immediate support in the post, adding Dane Schmid and Mankato East’s Brody Ziegler to the court. BLC and Gustavus last met in 2010 when the Gusties came into Mankato and defeated the Vikings 90-68. Bethany was led in scoring in that game by current senior Garrett Benson (Rochester, Minn./Mayo) with 17 points. Saturday’s game tips at 3 p.m. with a preliminary game between the two schools’ junior varsity squads at 1 p.m.
Wins this weekend would go a long ways in providing confidence for a Bethany squad with lofty goals. Historically, these two storied programs have been very rough on the Vikings, as BLC sports an 0-4 all-time record against St. Olaf and a 2-4 record against Gustavus. This Bethany team knows the challenges that lie ahead of them, but for opening weekend anyways, the Vikings will be the hunters.
