MANKATO, Minn. – The Bethany Lutheran men's basketball team Wednesday night trailed Northwestern by nine points early in the second half before using a big run to overcome the deficit and take an 82-75 win. With the win the Vikings improve to 23-3 on the year and will advance to the UMAC Championship where they will host UW-Superior on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. With the loss the Eagles will conclude their season at 16-10.



In the opening five minutes of the contest Bethany was able to get out to a 12-8 lead, with Japheth Nyamari of Northwestern keeping the visitors in the game with all eight of their points on a few tough baskets.

The rest of the Eagles would pick up their contributions over the next few minutes, with the Vikings going cold during the stretch as they would score nine unanswered to take a 17-12 lead with 12 minutes to go.

In somewhat of a theme for the game Jax Madson would hit a big three pointer to quell the run, as the two teams would trade punches over the next seven minutes. With UNW leading 27-26, they would close out the final 5:25 of the first half on a 11-7 run as they would take a 38-33 lead into the break.

Things didn't get better right out of the break for the Vikings as UNW would connect on a pair of threes matched only by a Madson layup as they led 44-35 with 18:22 to go.

Bethany was finally able to start to mount their comeback two minutes into the half as Mason Ackley would bury a top of the key three to begin the run, while Madson would cap off the 12-4 spurt with a pair of the threes as the Vikings cut the deficit to one point at 48-47. UNW would get three points to push their lead back to four, before free throws from Madson and a Drew Sagedahl and-one gave Bethany their first lead since the 14-minute mark of the first half.

The Vikings weren't complacent with their five-point run though, as they would score eight more answered to push their lead to 60-51 with 11:27 to play.  During the Vikings big run early in the second half Hunter Nielsen played a huge role down low, grabbing eight of his school record 21 rebounds to help the Vikings control the boards.

Over the next four and a half minutes the Eagles would start to attack the hoop, finishing at the rim four times and knocking down a step-back three to go on a 12-7 and cut the deficit to four points.

It was once again Madson who would end the run with a bucket at the hoop, before another Ackley three pushed the lead back to nine points. UNW would put in a pair of free throws before Madson knocked down another triple and finished inside a few possessions later as the Vikings pushed their lead to 12 at 77-65 with three minutes to play.

UNW wouldn't score again until there was 2:16 left but they would score the next seven points, capitalizing on empty possessions from the Vikings and offensive rebounds on their own end to cut into the lead. They would eventually have to foul, where Madson and Sagedahl would step to the line late and knock down crucial free throws to secure the victory for the Vikings.

Madson led Bethany with 22 points in the contest while Sagedahl added 18. Of Nielsen's school record 21 rebounds nine came on the offensive end, with the big man also adding 14 points to his tally along with three blocks. Dominik Bangu and Ackley also finished in double figures in the contest with 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Xavier Patterson dished out a game-high eight assists.