MANKATO, Minn. -- The Bethany Lutheran men's basketball team (13-9 overall, 9-3 UMAC) came away with a 98-80 victory over Minnesota Morris (8-15, 3-9) Saturday evening, extending its winning streak to seven games.
 
Bethany recognized its seniors Cire Mayfield (St. Louis Park, Minn.), Jacob Milinkovich (New Prague, Minn.), Jared Milinkovich (New Prague, Minn.), Brian Smith (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Jerret Utpadel (Geneva, Minn.) prior to the game for Senior Day.
 
Neither team was able to generate a lead of more than five in the first half, as both the Vikings and Cougars held on to the lead for roughly nine minutes of game time.
 
Despite freshman Ryan Samuelson's (Jordan, Minn.) three first-half triples, Bethany trailed Morris 51-49 entering the intermission. 
 
The Cougars shot 19-32 (59.4%) overall from the field in the first half while they held the Vikings to 17-38 (44.7%) shooting. 
 
Senior Brian Smith (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) led BLC with seven assists before the break, helping the team to a 13-8 advantage in that department. 
 
The second half began with more of the same, as Bethany clung to a one-point lead with 10 minutes remaining at 70-69. 
 
Three consecutive treys by Jared Milinkovich, the latter of which was his fourth of the half, sparked a 15-0 run over the next four minutes, to make it 85-69. The Vikings eventually pushed the lead to 21, their largest of the game, with just over a minute remaining. 
 
In all, the lead changed hands 18 times throughout the contest. Bethany held large advantages in points off of fastbreaks (22-5) and second-chance points (16-5). 
 
All five Vikings' starters scored in double figures on the night, led by Jared Milinkovich's 22 points. He also registered six rebounds, five assists and a game-high three steals. 
 
Smith recorded his second consecutive double double with 18 points and 12 assists, and added seven assists.
 
Junior Hunter Nielsen (New Prague, Minn.) and classmate Justin Schrupp (Danube, Minn.) had 14 and 12 points, respectively. Both players grabbed nine rebounds on the night as well. 
 
Jacob Milinkovich contributed 12 points. 
 
The Vikings take to the road to finish the regular season, starting with UMAC-leading Northwestern next Friday at 7:15 p.m.