Mankato, MN - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team took on the Bethany Lutheran Vikings on Saturday for their first regular season game of 2024. The men appeared in an exhibition game with Waldorf on Wednesday to get back into game shape for their matchup with Bethany. The Knights would put up their second highest point total of the season with 83 points, but that wouldn't be enough to keep up with the offensive attack from the Vikings, as Bethany defeated MLC 111-83.

The Vikings had four players finish in double figures, with Dominik Bangu collecting a team-best 27 points on 7-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Bangu set the stage for his team's success from deep and his teammates followed suit as the Vikings went 18-35 from 3 point territory (51.4 percent).

On the flip side, MLC would shoot just 7-of-26 (26.9 percent) on their 3-pointers, but found much more success in the paint, outscoring Bethany 46-36 near the rim.

The Knights also took care of the ball for the most part and committed just 12 turnovers, which was their second lowest amount of the season.

Sophomore Thomas Balge had 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor and the guard grabbed nine boards to lead the Knights. Frontcourt players in Micah Kieselhorst and Ethan Kjenstad added 13 and 14 points respectively for MLC.

Up next for MLC (1-10, 1-2) is a chance to pick up their second conference win of the season against Crown College. The two teams will square off at 7:15 following the women's game.