MANKATO — Bethany Lutheran led the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference in defense, but you wouldn’t have guessed that by watching the first half of Tuesday’s game with Minnesota-Morris.

The Cougars drove to the basket, and hit 6 of 11 from 3-point range, finishing the half up with a six-point lead, shooting 61.5 percent.

But in the second half, the Vikings did a better job of defending, and that halftime deficit turned into an 84-75 victory in the semifinals of the UMAC men’s basketball tournament at the Bethany Sports & Fitness Center.

“At halftime, I didn’t know if I should be mad or excited,” Bethany coach Dave Balza said. “We gave up 62 percent shooting, which was our worst half of the season, but we were only down six. I knew we’d play better defense in the second half.”

The Vikings, whose season was ended by Minnesota-Morris the last two years, outscored the Cougars 48-33 in the second half and allowed only 39.3 percent shooting while outrebounding the Cougars, the top rebounding team in the UMAC, by 7.

“It feels great to finally get them after they took us out the last two year,” junior Gavin Kroehler said. “It was really nice to do it on our home court.”

The Vikings used an early 12-2 run, capped by a putback and 3-pointer from Alex Weldon, to lead 14-7, but Minnesota-Morris was able to recover, using a 14-4 burst to take a 37-32 advantage with two minutes remaining in the half.

Minnesota-Morris led 42-36 at halftime, using 61.5 percent shooting, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range, to turn things around.

“We gave up way too many easy shots,” Kroehler said. “We switched our defense in the second half, and it seemed to work.”

The Vikings regained the lead at 51-50 on Dion Wright’s corner 3, and Garrett Benson followed with a 3. The run continued over the next six minutes, and Weldon, coming off two airballs, nailed a 3-pointer that made it 63-52 with seven minutes to play. A late flurry of 3s by Wright, Weldon and Gavin Kroehler pushed the lead to 76-58, allowing the Vikings, who missed five free throws, to overcome an 11-0 run to slide into the championship game Saturday.

“I told them at timeouts that they were going to make runs,” Balza said. “And sure enough, they did. But we did enough to get the win.”

Kroehler finished with 21 points, including 17 in the second half, and eight rebounds. Derek Peterson scored 16, and Weldon added 15 points and six rebounds. Patrick Garvin had nine assists as the Vikings shot 60.7 percent in the second half, 51.6 percent for the game. Bethany made 11 of 23 form 3-point range.

Brodie Raymond, who played at St. Peter, led Minnesota-Morris with 14 points, making three 3-pointers.

The Vikings (16-10) host Northwestern at 7 p.m. Saturday for the tournament championship. The winner advances to the national tournament. Northwestern defeated St. Scholastica 77-73 Wednesday.

“We’re going to treat it like every other game,” Kroehler said. “We need to keep doing the same things every game.”



 

MINNESOTA-MORRIS 75

Orazem 4-8 0-0 12, Schmidt 2-6 5-8 9, Hoidal 0-0 0-0 0, Foss 3-6 0-0 7, Bruns 4-5 0-1 8, Burns 4-10 0-0 10, Raymond 4-9 3-3 14, Reller 0-2 2-4 2, Meyer 6-9 0-0 13. Totals: 27-55 10-16 75.

BETHANY LUTHERAN 84

Peterson 6-10 3-5 16, Wright 3-5 2-5 10, Weldon 6-11 0-0 15, Garvin 1-4 0-1 2, Kroehler 7-13 4-5 21, Benson 3-7 0-0 7, Manego 2-6 0-0 4, Fogarty 0-0 0-0 0, Kelsen 1-1 0-0 2, Wensmann 1-1 0-0 3, Allen 2-4 0-0 4. Totals: 32-62 9-16 84.



Halftime: Minnesota-Morris 42, Bethany Lutheran 36. 3-point shooting: Minnesota-Morris 11-28 (Orazen 4-8, Foss 1-3, Burns 2-6, Raymond 3-8, Meyer 1-3), Bethany Lutheran 11-23 (Peterson 1-3, Wright 2-3, Weldon 3-6, Kroehler 3-6, Benson 1-3, Manego 0-1, Wensmann 1-1). Rebounds: Minnesota-Morris 30 (Meyer 6), Bethany Lutheran 37 (Kroehler 8). Assists: Minnesota-Morris 15 (Hoidal 8), Bethany Lutheran 23 (Garvin 9). Steals: Minnesota-Morris 6 (Foss 3), Bethany Lutheran 6 (Weldon 2). Turnovers: Minnesota-Morris 11, Bethany Lutheran 8. Total fouls: Minnesota-Morris 18, Bethany Lutheran 15. Fouled out: none.

Attendance: Not available.