MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's basketball team came all the way back from a 15-point deficit in the first half only to come up short, 74-72, against the UMAC leaders, Bethany Lutheran College. The Cougars slip to 12-10 (7-5 UMAC), while the Vikings move to 19-4 (10-2 UMAC).

It would have been difficult to script a worse start for Minnesota Morris on Saturday. Facing a team less than 24 hours removed from a loss at Crown College, the Cougars were blitzed in a 14-0 run in just over three minutes to open the game. With the second unit subbed in for the starters, Kenny Placide put UMN Morris on the board, but a three-pointer from the Vikings followed and gave the visitors their largest lead of the game, 17-2.

The play of the reserves – particularly Placide and Tarik Iyob – sparked a comeback. Iyob assisted on buckets from Placide and Thomas Tiernan and cashed in one of his own to help bring the Cougars back to a 19-10 deficit. When Bethany Lutheran again went on top by 13, 28-15, Minnesota Morris went on a 12-0 run to get within a single point. Jarrett Kujava and Pal Dak both had three-pointers in that run. The Cougars would head to the break with a much more manageable 41-35 score line.

At the midway point of the second half, Bethany Lutheran had reestablished a double-digit lead at 63-52. Corbyn Alexander then stepped up and helped the Cougars back into it. A Jaret Johnson bucket brought it to nine before Alexander scored five straight. Noah Kannegiesser followed with a fast-break putback layup and Johnson canned a corner three to give Minnesota Morris its first lead, 64-63, as the James Gremmels Court crowd roared.

The lead would seesaw for the next few minutes and a second three-pointer from Alexander put Minnesota Morris ahead, 71-70, with just over three minutes left. Unfortunately, the Cougars picked a bad time to hit an offensive drought. BLC's Jax Madson hit a pair at the line and Hunter Nielsen made a short jumper to increase the lead to 74-71 as the clock neared one minute to play. Alexander would make one of two at the line with 1:02 remaining to slice the deficit again for Minnesota Morris, bringing the Cougars within two.

In the final seconds, Kannegiesser was forced into a tough miss and the rebounding effort was a mad scramble that finally ended with just over a second remaining. Madson was fouled and went back to the line for a one-and-one, seeing his first effort roll off the rim and into the hands of Placide who called an immediate timeout. The Cougars had less than a second to go the length of the court and Alexander had a strong throw to the opposite free-throw line, but the long arms of Nielsen knocked the ball away and Bethany Lutheran hung on.

Dak led Minnesota Morris with 15 points on the afternoon. Placide notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Both Alexander and Johnson ended with nine.

Minnesota Morris heads into the final weekend of UMAC play in a tie for fourth place with North Central University, though the Cougars do own the tiebreaker over the Rams thanks to two head-to-head wins earlier this season. Minnesota Morris is on the road on Feb. 17 for a 5:30 p.m. game at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, followed by the regular-season finale at Northland College on Feb. 18.