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Box Score

Mankato, Minn. – The Minnesota Morris men's basketball team got a 92-80 win over Bethany Lutheran tonight (Jan. 21) bettering the last unbeaten team in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play.

A balanced attack saw five different players finish with 11 or more points, while the Cougars tied their season high scoring mark, matching the 94 from the season opener. The Cougars' (6-9, 3-1 UMAC) offense prevailed, as they out-dueled the Vikings (6-9, 3-1 UMAC) top-ranked scoring defense. Bethany Lutheran held their first three UMAC opponents under a 53 points per game average entering the night.

The win was also the second straight second-half comeback for the Cougars. After their big second half against Crown last Saturday, they outscored the Vikings 47-32 in the second half tonight, on their way to their third straight win.

The Cougars trailed 10 at 42-32 with 5:34 remaining in the first half, but closed the frame with a 13-to-6 run to trail just three at the break at 48-45.

The Cougars had closed all the way within two at 44-42 after Steve Birman (Duluth, Minn.) drained three of his game high 23 points, but the Vikings answered with four straight. From there, the final bucket of the half was the first of two Eric Dalbey (Mora, Minn.) threes in the game to send the teams into the locker rooms. Dalbey went on to finish with 14 on the night.

Derek Schmidt (East Grand Forks, Minn.) scored two of his 11 with a pair of free throws to open the half and bring the Cougars within one at 48-47 at the 19:14 mark. And by the 16:11 mark, Birman gave the Cougars back the lead with a lay-up to make the score 59-58.

With Bethany looking to protect their unbeaten status, and the Cougars looking for an early seat at the top of the standings, the two teams traded blows until two Tom Barrett (Red Lake, Minn.) free throws gave the Cougars the lead for good at 65-64 with 12:33 left to play. There were four ties in the game, and seven total lead changes on the night, all coming in the second half.

Barrett also finished among the scoring leaders with 11 on the night, including a 4-of-5 mark at the line. The Cougars held a huge advantage at the charity stripe on the night, making 27 in their 36 trips, while the Vikings went to the line just 15 times on the night, making 10.

Also scoring in double figures was Zach Meyer (Cottonwood, Minn.) with 16. Over a 1:24 span late in the game, Meyer nailed a three, and had a three-point play to stretch the Cougars lead to 13 at 88-75 with just 1:31 left to play, and all but eliminate any chance of a Viking comeback.

Meyer also pulled down six boards on the night, as UMM held a 40-to-32 edge on the boards. The Cougars were paced by Daniel Fragodt (Benson, Minn.) with a game high seven rebounds, part of an all around effort by the senior with nine points, five assists and two steals in a game high 32 minutes on the floor.

The Cougars will stay on the road tomorrow (Jan. 22) as they look to extend their current winning streak to a season-long four straight when they take on Martin Luther at 5:00 p.m.