BLC men's basketball drops season opener to St. Olaf

More news about: Bethany Lutheran
Nov 15, 2010

Mankato, Minn. - The Bethany Vikings began the first game of the season with a technical foul and the rest of the game fell into place as expected as the Vikings lost to the visiting St. Olaf Oles 96-84.

The momentum was set when the Vikings were called for a technical foul before the tip-off for dunking during warm-ups. Bethany gave the Oles three free-throws and possession, and St. Olaf took full advantage. The Oles hit all three free throws, and came down hitting a jump shot to put Bethany at a 5-0 deficit four seconds into the game. The Vikings Derek Peterson (Oakdale, Minn./Tartan) responded with a rainbow three, which would be the only Vikings scoring until 16:44 left in the first half. By the time Sami Onsomu (Mankato, Minn./Mankato East) hit the jumper, the Oles had racked up 14 points.

The Oles rush continued until 13:22 minutes left in the first half, when after digging themselves into a 24-7 deficit the Vikings were able to double their score unanswered. From there the game went into a lopsided trading of blows until with six minutes left in the half the Vikings were down 33-19. Bethany was not ready to die yet though, and sparked by a quick pair of three-pointers by Jacob Wensmann (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South) the Vikings fought to cut the deficit in half, going into the locker room down 40-33.

The second half began with a St. Olaf jumper, but was soon followed by a ferocious attack by the Vikings, who with 9:35 left in the game had cut the lead to four. Four points was the closest the Vikings would get for the rest of the game.

The two squads continued to trade baskets, until the final 6:30 of the game, when the Oles mounted a run of shots to put them up nine and simply added on from there.

The Vikings were led by Alex Weldon (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/LinMar) who recorded 21 points in just 14 minutes. Garret Benson (Rochester, Minn./Rochester Mayo) added 15 points, while Peterson had a solid all-around game posting 12 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.

The Vikings will play again at Macalester tonight at 7:30 p.m.