STEVENS POINT, Wis. - Bethany men's basketball closed out the UW-Stevens Point Pre-Thanksgiving Tournament with a 73-55 win over Ripon in the consolation game Saturday. The Vikings improve to 3-3 overall.
After trading the lead twice in the first seven minutes, Will Walter hit a three-pointer to put the Vikings up 16-13 and they never relinquished the lead. Amory Peterson made a pair of free throws in the final seconds of the half to give the Vikings their largest lead of 13 points and they led 37-26 at the break.
Bethany started the second half on an 11-5 run to go up by 17 (48-31) and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the game.
The Vikings shot 46.3 percent from the floor and limited Ripon to a 29.3 percent clip. The visitors made 9-of-29 from long range and won the rebound battle 40-29.
Blue Smaller led the offense with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. Walter and Peterson added 11 point apiece while Max Briggs chipped in 10 points. Peterson led down on the blocks with eight rebounds.
Briggs was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 17.0 points over the weekend, highlighted by a 16-for-17 performance from the free throw line yesterday.
Bethany returns home Tuesday night to host Carleton at 7 p.m.
