MANKATO, Minn. - The Bethany Lutheran men's basketball team overcame an eight point deficit with five minutes remaining to take Minnesota-Morris to overtime before defeating the Cougars 93-86. With the win the Vikings move to 14-3 overall and 5-1 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) while Morris falls to 7-7 overall and 3-3 in the UMAC.
The Vikings got things going early in this one with a Mason Ackley and-one giving Bethany an 8-2 lead under four minutes into the contest. The Cougars would respond with a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to 12-11 thanks to seven points from Noah Kannegiesser. The Vikings would then rebound with a run of their own and take a 24-13 lead with 7:39 remaining in the half. From their on out, the two teams would play fairly even as the Vikings headed to the half up 41-35.
The Cougars came out hot to start the second half, while the Vikings couldn't connect on their open looks as the visitors climbed back into it and took their first lead with 12:23 left. They would continue to add to their lead, eventually extending it to 68-60 with 4:55 left in the game before the Vikings mounted their comeback.
After cutting the deficit to five with three minutes left, Hunter Nielsen would convert on a layup and Mason Ackley would get a steal at half court on the following possession and take it in for a monster slam to cut the deficit to one. The Cougars would score to extend their lead to three before Drew Sagedahl scooped up a loose ball and stepped into a three to tie things up at 73. The Cougars would knock down two free throws on the ensuing possession before Sagedahl would come off a screen and launch from deep to give the Vikings a one-point lead. The Cougars would get a layup their next time down the floor but on the other end Nielsen would get fouled with just under a minute to play. He would make one of two free throws to tie things up and both teams had a shot late to take the lead but neither converted as we went to overtime.
In the extra frame the Cougars would take an 82-80 lead halfway through before Nielsen would put one in off the glass to tie things up. Jax Madson then buried a timely triple after a Morris turnover to give the Vikings a three -point lead with 1:20 left. Bethany would then seal the win on the defensive end and at the charity stripe as they were able to hold on for the victory.
Sagedahl led all scorers in the contest with 26 on the game while Nielsen finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double.
The Vikings will be back in action tomorrow when they host Crown for a 3 p.m. contest.
