MANKATO, Minn. – The Bethany Lutheran men's basketball team (5-2 overall, 2-0 UMAC) defeated Northwestern (5-5, 2-1) 100-98 in overtime Wednesday night to remain undefeated in conference play.
The Eagles took a commanding 54-38 lead at halftime, but a strong second half from the Vikings evened the game at 89 all to send the game to overtime.
In the extra session, the score was knotted four times which included 98 all with 22 seconds left. Senior Trenton Krueger (Eagan, Minn.) made a fade away jumper with six seconds left to give BLC the two-point lead. UNW got the ball back and attempted a three-pointer which fell short at the buzzer to seal the win for Bethany.
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All five starters finished in double digits as junior Brian Smith (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) led the way with 21 points and added a double double (10 rebounds). Krueger had 19 points, sophomore Jerret Utpadel (Geneva, Minn.) had 13, and sophomore Cire Mayfield (St. Louis Park, Minn.) and junior Jared Milinkovich (New Prague, Minn.) each had 11.
Mayfield added a career-high 14 assists, just one shy of the single game school record.
The Vikings move to 15-12 all-time in overtime games and 15-3 in 100 point games.
BLC owned the team advantages in field goal percentage (50.7 - 41.6), three-point field goal percentage (50.0 - 37.8), assists (25-13), and blocks (4-1).
Bethany returns to the court Saturday on the road against UW-Superior at 3 p.m.
