MANKATO, Minn. – Hunter Nielsen posted the first triple double in program history in Saturday's 83-78 win over Wartburg, doing it the unconventional way with 10 blocks in the contest. With the win the Vikings improve to 9-3 on the year while Wartburg falls to 2-10.  



After Jax Madson scored inside on the Vikings first possession of the game they fell into a cold spell, as Wartburg would go on a 11-2 run to hold a seven-point lead.  Bethany would then find their groove offensively, with Madson connecting on four triples in the next four minutes to push Bethany up 22-17.

Wartburg would draw the game back even at 29 points before the Vikings closed out the half on a big run. They would outscore the Knights 16-3 over the final 6:22, with four different players finding the bottom of the net to hold a 45-32 lead at the half.
After their slow start to open the game, the Vikings got out to a better start in the second, pushing their lead to 17 at 55-38 after Madson initiated a fast break, finding Nielsen who would drop a dime to Dominik Bangu for a monster dunk. Wartburg didn't fall away though, as they would score the next 11 points and 21 of the next 23 to lead 59-57 with 12:50 to play.

Bethany would slowly take back their lead, with Nielsen recording his 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th blocks over a three minutes spanas the Vikings would lead 72-65 with seven minutes to go. With the triple double already in hand, Nielsen would then add to his point total with a putback inside to extend the lead to nine with six minutes to go. The Knights would cut the lead to six points at 76-70 with three minutes to play, but a pair of free throws and dagger three from Madson pushed the game out of reach with two minutes to go as Bethany took the win.

Nielsen led the charge in this one with his triple double, scoring 19 points, grabbing 13 boards, and tying a career high with 10 blocks in the win. Madson posted a game-high 24 points in the game, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out five assists, while Xavier Patterson finished with 15 and Mason Ackley with 11.

The Vikings will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Central for a 5 p.m. contest.