MINNEAPOLIS—The Bethany Lutheran men's basketball team (13-11 overall, 9-5 UMAC) was defeated 84-83 Saturday night at North Central University (15-10, 9-5) in the regular season finale. 
 
Both teams traded blows in the early going as the game was tied at 18 just five minutes in. BLC then went on an 8-0 run and eventually pushed the lead to as many as 17 at 48-31 with just over three minutes remaining in the half. NCU hit a trio of treys over those next three minutes to cut the Vikings' lead to six at halftime, 49-43. 
 
Bethany shot 19-38 (50%) from the field overall before the intermission despite missing its final six field goal attempts. 
 
Seniors Jared Milinkovich (New Prague, Minn.) and Brian Smith (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) both had 12 points in the opening period. 
 
The Vikings started the second half strong and pushed the lead to 10 a few minutes in at 60-50. With 10 minutes to go in the contest, the Rams responded with a 12-0 run to claim the lead at 75-71. 
 
BLC battled back to take a four-point lead with over three minutes to play, but could not get another basket until the game's final seconds. 
 
Smith led the Vikings with 25 points on the night. 
 
Milinkovich followed with 16 points and became the career leader in rebounds, as he surpassed Trenton Krueger's 607 on his rebound with 12:04 to play in the first half.
 
Junior Hunter Nielsen (New Prague, Minn.) added 15 points and eight rebounds. 
 
Senior Cire Mayfield (St. Louis Park, Minn.) rounded out those in double figures with 10 points. 
 
Mayfield, Milinkovich, and Nielsen each recorded three steals. 
 
Bethany owned the advantage in points in the paint (48-20) and won the turnover battle by 10 (17-7). 
 
The Vikings will host a yet to be announced opponent on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. to open the UMAC Tournament.