NEW ULM, Minn. – Junior Hunter Nielsen (New Prague, Minn.) became Bethany Lutheran's career leader in blocked shots in the 98-55 win over Martin Luther Saturday. He surpassed current assistant coach Trenton Krueger's record of 83 set in 2017-20 at 12:43 to play in the second half, which was his third block of the contest.

With the win the Vikings are 6-7 and 2-1 in UMAC play.

Four players finished in double digits as senior Brian Smith (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) led all scorers with 24 points, junior Justin Schrupp (Danube, Minn.) had 14, freshman Ryan Samuelson (Jordan, Minn.) had 13 and senior Cire Mayfield (St. Louis Park, Minn.) had 10.

Freshman Riley Ashburn (Renville, Minn.) had a career-high 14 rebounds and Nielsen added 12.

The score was tied for the final time at 12 all with 13:37 to go in the first half. BLC compiled a 15-5 run over the next four minutes to push the lead to double digits and reclaimed the lead for good. The Vikings led 59-33 at halftime.

As a team, Bethany owned the advantage in all three team shooting categories, rebounds, assists, and blocks. BLC also tied the single game school record with 19 three-point field goals, which was previously set at UW-Superior on Feb. 9, 2019.

The Vikings open a two-game homestand when they first host North Central on Friday, Jan. 14 at 7:15 p.m.