MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's basketball team couldn't buy a bucket for long portions of the first half on Friday night and Bethany Lutheran was happy to take advantage, going on a 30-2 run that turned a six-points deficit into a 22-point lead. The Vikings increased their lead to 51-24 by halftime and strolled to an 89-57 win. The Cougars sink to 6-9 (2-3 UMAC) with the loss, while the Vikings improve to 7-9 (3-3 UMAC).

Opening baskets from Jaret Johnson gave Minnesota Morris an early 5-0 lead and back-to-back shots from Ian Carlin increased the margin to 9-3 with just over three minutes elapsed. Over the next nine minutes, the Cougars failed to connect on a field goal as Dillon Haider provided the only points from the charity stripe. Over that time, Bethany Lutheran caught fire and poured in 30 points to build a 33-11 cushion. Haider finally ended the stretch for UMN Morris with a three-pointer, but the deficit was 51-24 for the Cougars at the half.

Minnesota Morris wasn't able to cut into the deficit very much in the second half, never getting closer than 26 points. The Cougars ended the game with an 8-0 run on three-pointers from Koleman Lind and James Pendleton, plus a putback from Jarrett Kujava.

Carlin finished as the leading scorer on the night for the Cougars with 10 points. Johnson had eight points and Pal Dak snared seven rebounds.

Minnesota Morris is back in action at Jim Gremmels Court on Saturday, hosting Martin Luther College at 4:45 p.m.