ST. PAUL, Minn. - Dominik Bangu became the third Viking this season to eclipse 1,000th collegiate points as he surpassed the mark on Wednesday night in the team's 91-82 loss at Northwestern. The Vikings fall to 3-9 overall and 0-1 in the UMAC following the contest while the Eagles move to 6-6 overall and 1-0 in the conference.
The game got off to a slow start as neither team could get going in the first seven minutes of the contest. Bethany would go 4-of-12 from the field with three turnovers while the Eagles were 4-for-11 with three turnovers during the stretch.
Bangu would connect on a triple to get the scoring spurt before
Drew Sagedahl would find his stride offensively and help the Vikings to a 30-27 lead with just under five to play. UNW would then score nine of the next 11 points to go up 36-32 with time winding down in the half, but a pullup jumper from Sagedahl would make it a two point game at the break.
It was Bethany who was quick out of the gates in the second half, as they would go on a 13-3 run just a few minutes into the frame with Sagedahl scoring the final four to put the Vikings up eight with 14:30 to play.
Northwestern would have an answer of their own though, as they would use a 17-6 run to command a 59-56 lead with just under 10 to play. They would slowly tack onto their lead, advancing it as far as seven at 71-64 with 5:42 to go.
The Vikings would claw their way back and a Bangu wing three with 4:35 to go would make it a one possession game at 73-70 with four minutes to play. After each team would add two more points,
Jack Brockmann would nab a steal and take it the other way for a fastbreak dunk as the lead was trimmed down to one point with 3:30 to go.
Northwestern would score on their next possession though and the Vikings couldn't muster the comeback from there, as they would trail the remainder of the way and the Eagles would sink late free throws to seal the victory.
Sagedahl led all scorers in the game with 27 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds, while Bangu added 19.
DJ Akpati and Brockmann also finished in double figures for the Vikings with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Bethany will next be in action on Saturday when they host UW-Superior in a 3 p.m. contest.
