MANKATO, Minn. – Hunter Nielsen scored his 1,000th career point on Friday night and led the Vikings in scoring with 21 points as they defeated Milwaukee School of Engineering 97-81. With the win Bethany kicks things off 1-0 on the year while MSOE falls to 0-1.



It was a relatively slow start for the Viking offense in this one, as the Raiders climbed out a 20-17 lead midway through the first half of play. Dominik Bangu came in and provided a spark off the bench for the Vikings though, tallying six of his 12 first half points in a two-minute span to give the offense a boost. MSOE would continue to keep their foot on the gas though, pushing out to a 31-24 lead, their biggest of the contest, with 7:33 to play.

It was then Nielsen who would run the floor a pair of times, the first resulting in a layup and the second in a monster jam that would kickstart the Vikings. Kegan Heiderscheidt would push the run to 7-0 after burying a three-pointer as the game was even at 31.

Each team would score five points over the next minute and a half before Bethany got hot in the final three minutes. They would outscore MSOE 14-6 in the final three minutes, with Drew Sagedahl hitting a pair of late three to send the Vikings into the break up 50-42.

The Raiders came out of the break with a different attitude, dominating the opening stretch as they outscored the Vikings 18-6 in the first six minutes of play to hold a 60-56 lead with 14 minutes left. They would eventually extend their lead to 65-60 before the Vikings would claw back in it and even the score at 69 apiece with 8:43 to play.

Bethany would then ramp up the tempo, creating a handful of fastbreak points to spark a 14-4 run to gain an 83-73 lead with under five minutes to go. MSOE would try to claw back in late but Sagedahl and Jax Madson would hit a pair of dagger threes to put the game out of reach and give the Vikings the 97-81 win. 

Nielsen added 10 rebounds and three blocks to his 21-point effort for a double-double, while Sagedahl also reached the 20-point mark and added six rebounds. Madson and Mason Ackley each poured in 13 points and dished out seven assists, while Heiderscheidt chipped in six assists.

Bethany will be back in action tomorrow when they host Wisconsin Lutheran College for a 2 p.m. contest.