MANKATO, Minn. – The Bethany Lutheran men's basketball team outscored Northwestern 57-30 in the second half of Saturday night's contest en route to a 99-71 win. With the win the Vikings improve to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in the UMAC while the Eagles fall to 7-2 overall and 0-2 in the UMAC.



Play opened up in this one with both teams going punch for punch the first six minutes of the contest with each putting up 14 points.  The two squads continued to play an even first half until the Eagles used an 11-2 run over a three-minute span late in the half to take a 38-31 lead.

The Vikings didn't go into the half quietly though as they caught fire in the final few minutes with Xavier Patterson finishing inside before a Mason Ackley slam in transition. Jax Madson would knock down a pair of free throws before UNW answered with a bucket inside to retake a four-point lead. Madson though, would bury a three pointer before Hunter Nielsen scored in transition to give the Vikings a 42-41 lead headed to the break.

Dominik Bangu would open the second half with a three for the Vikings and that would start to become a theme as the home team was 9-of-15 from long range in the final 20 minutes. After Patterson finished inside, the Eagles would hit back-to-back triples to even things up at 47 apiece with 16 minutes to go.

The Vikings would throw a few more punches but Northwestern was able to hold tight, getting a layup with 14:07 to go to cut the deficit to 54-51. That was as close as they would get though, as Jax Madson and the Vikings would take over the next five minutes. Bethany would score 21 of the next 23 points to take a 75-53 lead, with Madson scoring 13 points in the spurt including a trio of three pointers.

That 20-point cushion was enough to put things away, as the Vikings would roll from there to a 99-71 win.

Madson and Bangu both had big efforts for the Vikings, each going 8-of-14 from the field and 4-of-8 from long range. Madson finished with 22 points and six rebounds while Bangu stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Nielsen finished his night with a double double scoring 18 points and adding 12 rebounds, while Ackley and Patterson finished with 17 and 15 points, respectively.

Bethany will next be in action on Friday, as they host Carleton at 6 p.m.