MANKATO — Joe Drapcho said that when he’s a starter, he tries to do other things than score to help the Minnesota State men’s basketball team, while as a reserve, he looks more for his offense.

However, Drapcho, making his first start of the season Tuesday, found his missing 3-point stroke.

“I’ve been struggling the first five games with the 3, and it’s been frustrating,” Drapcho said. “It felt good to make some tonight, and it gives you confidence. Hopefully, I can carry it over.”

Despite an early struggle, the Mavericks defeated Bethany Lutheran 110-65 in a nonconference game at Bresnan Arena. But it was much more competitive in the first half than the final spread may indicate.

“They came out and did what they needed to do,” Minnesota State coach Matt Margenthaler said. “(Coach) Rick (Jeddeloh) had them ready to go. We took them for granted early and didn’t bring the energy. When we do that, we’re susceptible to getting beat.”

Bethany jumped ahead 12-2 after three minutes as Tommy Saffert and Jeff Zimmerman each hit two 3-pointers.

Minnesota State’s Marcus Hill hit consecutive 3-pointers to draw within 16-15 a couple minutes later, but the Vikings answered with eight straight, including two more 3-pointers by Zimmerman, to make it 24-15 with 12 minutes to play in the half.

Hill’s fourth 3-pointer put Minnesota State back on top 40-37 with 3:50 remaining, starting a 17-3 run into the break. Drapcho, in the starting lineup because Cameron Hodges broke his hand in Sunday’s victory against Winona State, nailed a 3-pointer in the final seconds that made it 51-40.

“That was a big one,” Margenthaler said. “He needed some confidence, and he made his free throws. He’s a glue guy, he does all the little things. He’s a guy who brings good energy at both ends.”

Zimmerman’s fifth 3-pointer kept Bethany close in the early minutes of the second half, but the Mavericks broke things open with 13 straight points, making some steals that turned into layups, to go up 74-49.

The Vikings made only 3 of their first 14 shots in the second half as the Mavericks’ pressure was increasingly effective. Bethany shot just 26.7 percent in the second half.

“Tommy’s always good when he hits his first shot, and he got Jeff going early,” Jeddeloh said. “Any coach is happy when you play hard.”

The Mavericks gradually pulled away over the last 11 minutes as the reserves hit the floor. Mike Bisenius had 10 points in the final six minutes, and Hill hit his fifth 3-pointer, tying Jefferson Mason for top honors with 19 points. Travis Nelson added 18 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.

Drapcho had a career-high 13 points, making 3 of 4 from 3-point range. He was only 1 of 8 from behind the arc in the first five games.

“We have so many weapons,” Drapcho said. “Travis is our go-to guy, and I need to do the little things to help the team win.

Zimmerman finished with 24 points, making 8 of 13 from 3-point range. Saffert had 15 points, eight assists and three steals, and Derek Peterson totaled 14 points and five rebounds.

Bethany (0-6) opens Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play on the road this weekend, at Minnesota-Morris on Friday and Presentation on Saturday.

“This was great preparation for what we have coming up,” Jeddeloh said. “These are the two most important games we have before Christmas. We need to get all of our guys healthy.”

Bethany was missing three starters Tuesday. Stephone Frederick broke his hand in preseason practice and has yet to play, and Patrick Garvin (illness) and Chris Scarver (hamstring) also didn’t play.

The Mavericks (6-0) host Southwest Minnesota State at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener.

“We have four homes games coming up (in the next 17 days), and three are conference games,” Margenthaler said. “We need to finish out (2009) strong because we’re on the road late in the season. Southwest is a tough team, and it’s an important game.”



BETHANY LUTHERAN 65
Zimmerman 8-17 0-0 24, Mantey 4-5 0-0 8, Bartelt 0-3 0-0 0, Saffert 6-22 0-0 15, Peterson 5-8 4-4 14, Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Knight 0-2 0-0 0, Strong 0-0 0-0 0, Benson 0-0 0-0 0, Rowe 0-1 0-0 0, Kroehler 1-5 2-2 4. Totals: 24-63 6-6 65.

MINNESOTA STATE 110
Greeley 0-2 0-0 0, Nelson 7-10 4-4 18, Clark 1-3 0-0 3, Davis 3-8 3-4 10, Drapcho 4-8 2-2 13, Hill 6-10 2-2 19, Mason 5-5 9-12 19, Kirschbaum 2-5 0-0 5, Morrow 3-5 3-4 9, Weldon 0-1 0-0 0, Bisenius 5-7 0-0 10, Grundman 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 38-67 23-28 110.

Halftime: Minnesota State 51, Bethany Lutheran 40. 3-point shooting: Bethany Lutheran 11-26 (Zimmerman 8-13, Bartelt 0-1, Saffert 3-11, Knight 0-1), Minnesota State 11-22 (Clark 1-1, Davis 1-4, Drapcho 3-4, Hill 5-7, Kirschbaum 1-4, Morrow 0-1, Weldon 0-1). Rebounds: Bethany Lutheran 27 (Peterson 5), Minnesota State 45 (Nelson 10). Assists: Bethany Lutheran 13 (Saffert 8), Minnesota State 25 (Clark, Kirschbaum 5). Steals: Bethany Lutheran 4 (Saffert 3), Minnesota State 10 (Mason 3). Turnovers: Bethany Lutheran 14, Minnesota State 7. Total fouls: Bethany Lutheran 15, Minnesota State 9. Fouled out: none.

Attendance: 1,123.