INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Bethany Lutheran College men's basketball team stepped up their game on the road Saturday at Simpson College. The Simpson College Storm returned all but one player from last year's team and was picked to finish third in the tough American Rivers Conference. It took five extra minutes of play in a wild finish, but the Vikings won by a final score of 103-100.
 
The Vikings found themselves down by seven points at halftime, trailing the storm 46-39. BLC committed 13 first-half turnovers which helped the Storm get easy baskets in the open court. The Vikings kept themselves close by shooting 6-10 from three-point range and 45.2% overall from the field in the first 20 minutes.
 
The Vikings started quickly in the second half, finding their rhythm and taking the lead after five minutes of play. The two teams battled back and forth for the remainder of the game, but BLC found themselves down by four points with two minutes left. A layup from Jake Dale followed by a three-pointer from Dan Gutzmer gave the Vikings the lead with just over a minute left. The Storm would retake the lead, but Trenton Krueger answered for the Vikings with two free throws to give BLC a one-point advantage.
 
The Storm then dribbled down the court and then out of bounds to give the ball to the Vikings with just four seconds to play. The Vikings, however, turned the ball over on the inbounds pass and the Storm quickly called a timeout. Unfortunately for the Storm, they were out of timeouts which resulted in a technical foul and two free throws for the Vikings. Austin Bauer extended the lead to three points. The Storm retained possession after the free throws and hit a 35 foot three at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
 
The Vikings regrouped in the final five minutes and earned the tough win. Trenton Krueger scored 21 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Austin Bauer added 19 points and Cire Mayfield recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists.
 
The Vikings finished the game 14-23 from deep and shot 53.7% overall from the field. 26 turnovers hurt the Vikings, but their hot shooting combined with 17-20 from the free throw line helped seal the victory.
 
Up Next: The Vikings will host the #1 team in the country and 2018 NCAA DIII National Champion Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves in their home-opener on Monday, November 12th at 7 PM.
 

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MEDIA: If you need further information, please feel free to contact Dan DeWitt at 507-344-7856 or email ddewitt@blc.edu.