Box Score Gavin Kroehler and Derek Peterson come from very different backgrounds. Kroehler hails from a tiny south-central Minnesota town called Le Sueur with a population of just over 4,000. Peterson, meanwhile, is from St. Paul, with a population of over 285,000. Little did the duo know that when they stepped onto the Bethany Lutheran College campus in the fall of 2009, that they would have their names etched in the Vikings basketball record books.
Going into Friday night’s game against Northland College at the Sports & Fitness Center on the campus of Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minn., Gavin Kroehler stood at 993 career points while his teammate (and roommate) Derek Peterson had amassed 988 points in his college career. With Kroehler needing only seven points to reach 1,000 career points and Peterson needing 12, chances were good that the duo would achieve at milestone number in the same game.
The “Red Sea” section of the Bethany student section had countdown signs erected for both players to show how close each player was to obtaining the 1,000 point plateau. The focus was on Kroehler first as he was the closest to the achievement. He scored the game’s first two points on an assist from Peterson. Halfway through the first half, Kroehler scored his fourth point, again on an assist from Peterson. Three minutes later he hit another lay-up to pull within one point of 1,000 career points. With three minutes remaining in the first half, and the “Red Sea” countdown sign reading 999 career points, Kroehler received a pass from Patrick Garvin and laid it in on the left side. The three nines were ripped off the sign to show “1000.” The crowd stood and appreciated the achievement Kroehler had made becoming the program’s fifth player to score 1,000 career points. Ever the team player, Gavin’s initial reaction wasn’t about what he had just done.
“We need to play defense; got to get back down on the other side of the court,” he said. “We needed to win the game. Having us both score 1000 points is cool, but to do it in a loss would have been disappointing.”
The focus shifted to Peterson. After scoring six first half points, Derek stood six points away from reaching his milestone number. Peterson hit a three 1:19 into the second half, putting his career total at 997 points. He hit two free throws a minute and a half later to pull within one point. With 15:30 left, Peterson stole a pass, dribbled down the court, held off a defender and laid it in on the left side. The “Red Sea” stood and cheered for the second time on the night and more numbers were ripped off to reveal “1000.” Peterson became the sixth player in program history to record 1,000 career points.
“It means a lot. It just shows all the hard work we’ve put in throughout these four years,” said Peterson. “Being able to share it with my teammates and being able to share it with Gavin is special.”
There’s more than just scoring that these two bring to the Vikings. Kroehler is the reigning co-player of the year in the UMAC and earlier this season he broke the school’s all-time blocked shots record surpassing the 47 shots swatted away by Andy Wills (2007-09). Kroehler now stands at 50.
“Gavin can play inside and outside and he plays on the defensive end,” said Peterson. “He’s able to score inside and then have their post players guard him outside which is very tough. That makes him diverse.”
Earlier this season, Peterson broke the school’s free throws made and attempted record. He is five rebounds shy of 500 for his career. When he gets that he will be the only player in program to score 1,000 points, collect 500 rebounds, and dish out 250 assists. He has also been on the UMAC’s All-Defensive Team for three straight years.
“Completeness is a great term for Derek,” said head coach David Balza. “He’s not only a good scorer, but he’s amongst our all-time leading rebounders, leaders in assists, steals, already set the free throw record and he guards the best player on the other team every night. He’s had some accolades, but I think people are really starting to realize the impact he’s had on our program.”
Personal accomplishments are great, but team goals are what Kroehler and Peterson play for. The Vikings are looking to repeat as UMAC regular season champions and that is their main focus. The team has won three in a row and is 4-1 in conference play.
“It’s at an all-time high right now,” said Kroehler in regards to his team’s confidence. “We did fall at North Central and that was a reality check. We realized we can’t win every game. Each and every game we come in just looking to beat that one team and move on to the next game; try to win the weekend is what we call it.”
