STEVENS POINT, Wis. - Bethany men's basketball opened the UW-Stevens Point Pre-Thanksgiving Tournament Friday night against the host and suffered a 78-67 loss, moving to 2-3 overall.
Max Briggs set the single game program record for free throws made. Briggs shot 16-of-17 from the charity stripe, surpassing the previous record of 14 made free throws by Brandyn Frelix vs. UW-Superior on Dec. 4, 2015. Briggs finished with a game-high 24 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists, a block, and a steal.
Jack Brockmann and Will Walter each contributed 13 points while Brockmann led on the glass with eight rebounds.
After a couple missed three-pointers by each team to start the game, the Pointers made the first bucket on a jumper and never trailed the rest of the night. UW-Stevens Point's largest lead of the first half was 14 and it led 38-26 at halftime.
The Pointers extended their lead to as much as 19 points four times before the Vikings made a comeback effort, starting with 12 minutes on the clock. A layup by Brockmann sparked a 14-4 run over the next seven minutes, cutting the difference to 62-53. A nine-point difference was the closest the Vikings got, though, as the Pointers held off any late rally attempt in the final minutes.
Bethany shot 36.8 percent from the floor and made just 8-of-30 from long range. The Pointers shot 45.2 percent from the field. The Vikings won the rebound battle 37-33.
The Vikings close out the tournament at 2 p.m. Saturday against Ripon in the consolation game. Ripon lost 73-58 to Millikin earlier in the day.
