Story by: Zach Koenig
Mankato, MN—Despite leading by double-digits early in the second half, the University of Minnesota-Morris men’s basketball team had to fight down to the wire to eek out a 70-68 victory over Bethany Lutheran on Saturday.
During the contest, the Cougars had three players hit double-digits in scoring, including Will Jenson (Sr. Eau Claire, WI) with 21, Phil Allen (Jr. Clarissa, MN) with 15, and Eric Dalbey (So. Mora, MN) with 11.
Dalbey also picked up six rebounds over the course of the game, while both Jenson and Joey Fragodt (So. Benson, MN) grabbed five boards.
The Cougars held a precarious lead during the opening minutes of the first half, finally extending it to seven points (23-16) on Dalbey’s jump-shot with 9:05 remaining.
UMM’s lead was quickly shrunk to 23-21, but points from Jordan Noonan (So. Richfield, MN), Ross Johnson (So. Eyota, MN) and Dalbey gave the Cougars a comfortable lead, 29-21, with 5:23 on the clock.
From that point, Minnesota-Morris would go on a 13-3 run to close out the half and take a 42-24 lead into the break.
The Cougars continued to hold a big lead as the second half got underway, with a three-point play from Corey Kelzenberg (Sr. Fridley, MN) putting the score at 49-32. A jumper from Jeremy Bosch (So. Salol, MN) kept the lead at 14 points (53-39) with 12:49 remaining.
Over the next five minutes, however, UMM’s lead severely dwindled, with the Cougars needing a jumper from Allen at 6:54 to maintain a slim 59-56 lead.
Bethany Lutheran then took a 62-61 lead, their first of the contest, only to see Minnesota-Morris take it right back with two Noonan free-throws. The home team would again pull ahead 64-63, but three free-throws from Dalbey put UMM up 66-64 with 3:32 to play.
A Bethany Lutheran layup deadlocked the score at 66-66 with 1:17 remaining, but a three-pointer from Kelzenberg put the Cougars in front once again.
Leading 70-68 in the game’s final seconds, the Cougars survived a last-ditch three-point attempt from Bethany Lutheran’s Tommy Saffert to hold on for the victory.
The Cougars were 26-59 (44.1%) shooting from the floor and outscored Bethany Lutheran 16-8 in points coming off of turnovers.
UMM, now 7-4 in UMAC play and 12-10 overall, will return home on Friday, February 15, to host St. Scholastica at 7:30 p.m.
 | .gif) |
| Minnesota-Morris | 42 | 28 | 0 | 70 |
| Bethany | 24 | 44 | 0 | 68 |
Box Score
