MANKATO, Minn. -- The Bethany Lutheran men's basketball team (11-9 overall, 7-3 UMAC) withstood two major scoring runs from UW-Superior (7-13, 4-6) Saturday evening to defeat the YellowJackets 79-66. 
 
Superior came out strong and jumped to a 13-2 lead over the first four minutes of play.
 
The Vikings battled all the way back through a rugged first half to take its first lead of the game at 29-28 with two minutes to go in the frame. BLC scored on its final five possessions to grab an eight-point advantage, 38-30, at the intermission.
 
Senior Brian Smith (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) led the Vikings with 13 points at the half. Freshman Ryan Samuelson (Jordan, Minn.) also contributed nine points, including converting on his second four-point play in as many games. 
 
BLC carried its momentum over to start the second half as it took a 47-33 lead. The Jackets responded to erase their deficit with a 19-2 run over the next four minutes, giving them a 52-49 lead with roughly 14 minutes to play. 
 
With Superior up by one with 11 minutes remaining, the Vikings put the clamps on defensively, holding UWS to just four points over the next eight minutes to regain control, 76-60. 


 
Smith finished the night with a game-high 19 points and five assists. 
 
Junior Justin Schrupp (Danube, Minn.) scored 12 points, all coming in the second half, to help lift the Vikings to victory. 
 
Junior Hunter Nielsen (New Prague, Minn.) collected his fifth double double of the season, as he finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. 
 
Senior Jared Milinkovich (New Prague, Minn.), who became the program's all-time career leader in games played with his start, scored 11 points and added nine rebounds. He surpassed the 109 set by Travis Priem in 2004-08.
 
Bethany finished the game shooting 8-15 (53.3%) from deep and 30-57 overall (52.6%). 


 
BLC continues its homestand next Friday night with a matchup versus Crown College at 7:15 p.m.