MANKATO, Minn. - Jax Madson scored 37 points and
Dominik Bangu added 26 as the Bethany Lutheran men's basketball team held off Martin Luther 95-93 on Wednesday night. With the win the Vikings improve to 6-10 overall and 3-2 in the UMAC while the Knights fall to 4-10 overall and 1-4 in conference.
After falling behind 10-7 three minutes into the contest, the Vikings would score the next nine points with Bangu and
Jack Brockmann each hammering breakaway slams in the stretch. Bethany would push their six point lead to nine thanks to a Madson jumper midway through the half before the Knights would storm back with eight straight to cut the deficit to 25-24 with 8:14 to go.
The Knights would continue to push their momentum, as they would mount an 11-7 run over next three minutes and led 35-32 with five minutes to go. The two teams would play to a 40 score with two minutes to go, but five late points from Madson would help Bethany to a 45-43 lead at the break.
The Vikings would come out of the gates strong in the second half, pushing out to a an eight point lead thanks in part to seven points from Madson. MLC would bring the deficit back to two points at 60-58 with 14:12 to and from there on out the teams would play neck and neck.
With the two teams tied at 82 apiece with 4:29, Madson would bury his sixth triple of the contest for a lead Bethany would not relinquish though it wasn't without the Knights trying to play spoiler. A Bangu three followed by a Brockmann layup put the Vikings in the drivers seat up six with 1:30 to go and they would keep their lead at six points until a minute remained as MLC would cut the lead in half with a three. Bethany split a pair of free throws with 40 seconds to go and after a Knights basket they would lead by just two with 10 seconds to play. A miss on the front end of a one and one gave Martin Luther a last look at the hoop with time ticking down, but a three pointer rattled out and the ensuing tip-ins were unsuccessful as the Vikings held on for the win.
Madson's career high of 37 points was efficient as the senior went 14-of-20 from the field and 6-of-11 from three, while also adding five rebounds and four assists. Bangu added 26 to go along with four rebounds and three steals, while Drew Sagedahl had 13 points and five boards.
