Box Score

Strong Second Half Sends Men's Basketball Past Knights

 
NEW ULM, Minn. – The Vikings men's basketball team resumed play on Saturday afternoon against conference foe in Martin Luther. Bethany defeated the Knights 76-68 to earn a key conference win on the road.
 
The Knights scored the first seven points of the conference rivalry game before freshman Austin Bauer got the Vikings on the scoreboard with a three-pointer at the 14:59 mark. Both team played very tight defense throughout the first 20 minutes of the game, making it difficult for either team to run their offensive schemes.
 
As the first half winded down, the offensive plans started to take form which resulted in back and forth scoring with the Knights leading 34-31 at the break. Bethany went into the locker room shooting 37.5 percent compared to Martin Luther's 45.2 percent from the field. Bauer connected on a pair of three-pointers to lead the team with six points. For the Knights, T.J. Babinec led all scorers with 14 points.
 
The men's basketball team (7-12, 5-6 in UMAC ) took their first lead of the contest, 45-44 with 14:15 remaining as Zach Brandts knocked down a pair of free-throws. As the second half progressed, the Vikings continued to knock down clutch shots with the Knights answering right back with points of their own.  With four minutes remaining Bethany held a four point advantage over the home team.
 
The continual pressure on the defensive end and efficiency on the offensive end lead the Vikings to a conference victory over Martin Luther.
 
Looking at the numbers for Bethany:

• Four Vikings reached double-figures in the victory over the Knights.
• Austin Bauer finished the contest with 16 points off the bench for Bethany.
• Brandyn Frelix added 12 points and recorded 10 rebounds
• Zach Brandts finished the contest with 12 points and five rebounds
• Walker Froehling added 10 points to the Vikings offense while recording seven rebounds.
• Brady Rose recorded seven rebounds to go along with nine points.
• 42.1% (24-57) from the field and 25% (4-16) from three-point land.
• Largest lead was 10 point.

 
Up Next:

The Vikings will return home on Friday, February 5^th to take on the Lumberjacks from Northland starting at 5:30 p.m. Dance Express will provide the half-time entertainment for both the men's and women's game. Come support Vikings athletics.