New Ulm, MN - The Martin Luther College Knights met the Bethany Lutheran College Vikings for a second time this season on Saturday. The Knights did their best to secure a split in the season series, but came up short in their effort, falling to the Vikings 94-68.

For about the first seven minutes of action, MLC stuck with the UMAC leading Vikings and were down by just four points (15-11). The Knights had done a good job of contesting the Bethany shooters and didn't give them any easy shots.

However, the athleticism of Mason Ackley was on display when the senior stole the ball and slammed down a breakaway dunk and that play would ignite a switch in Bethany. From there, the Vikings outscored MLC 24-11 and their guard Drew Sagedahl would heat up from outside to guide Bethany to a 48-30 lead at the break.

Seth Veers had one of his better performances of the season and gave the Knights some life as MLC outscored Bethany 13-8 in the beginning of the second half thanks to nine points from the forward.

Pat Garvin then called a timeout as the Vikings were up 58-43 with 15:17 left and his team answered with a 16-5 run due to the up-tempo style led from the backcourt duo of Sagedahl and Jax Madson. The pair of guards set the pace for the Bethany offense and their explosiveness with the ball led to many high percentage shots for themselves and their teammates. The Vikings were looking to push the ball and successfully did just that, outscoring the Knights 18-4 in fastbreak points.

Hunter Nielsen led Bethany with 26 points and ran the floor as a big man, while also posing as a rim protector with his length. The center impacted the game in the paint on both ends of the court and was a big part of Bethany's 56-38 advantage for points in the paint.

Despite the loss, MLC showed a lot of grit and didn't give up on loose balls or on defense. Ethan Kjenstad led the Knights with 15 points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep and Luke Fix made some tough shots near the rim, picking up 14 points. Veers and Thomas Balge finished with 11 points apiece.

MLC (4-15, 2-6) will next play against Minnesota Morris at home on Friday, February 2, at 7:15 p.m.