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Men’s basketball rallies in tournament to finish UMAC runner-up
Monday, March 16, 2009 Joseph Baer Mankato, Minn.—The Bethany men’s basketball season had many ups and downs in their 2008-09 season. The Vikings closed the season with a modest 13-15 record and 5-9 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). The team reached the UMAC tournament as the sixth seed and completed road upsets of Northwestern (third seed) and Martin Luther (second seed). In the championship, the Vikings were on the losing end of a dramatic game and subsequently finished as the runner-up to the College of St. Scholastica. The Vikings also won the Trinity Tournament held in Connecticut over winter break.
Departing senior Andy Wills (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) and junior Tommy Saffert (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) led the way for Bethany and received First Team All-Conference honors for their productive seasons. Wills led the Vikings with 17.6 points and 7.4 rebounds a game and Saffert led the team in minutes, assists, steals, and free throw percentage. Saffert also averaged 15.3 points per game. Junior Jeff Zimmerman (Nicollet, Minn./Nicollet) added 14 points per game and had a season and team high of 39 points against Martin Luther in the UMAC semi-finals where he hit 11 three pointers. Freshman Shimi Colbert established himself as one of the UMAC’s feared defenders and received UMAC All-Defense Team honors for his strong play.
Coach Rick Jeddeloh looked back at the challenges of coaching a young team this season and said, “Whenever you have 12 freshmen on a team, it presents challenges for the veteran players, the coaching staff, and the freshman. I thought we all grew together as the season went on in the areas that we think are most important: trust, respect, communication, and pride in our program.”
Wills, Saffert and Colbert receive men's basketball UMAC All-Conference honors
Wednesday, March 04, 2009 Greg Johnson, UMAC Sports Information Director ST. PAUL – After a thrilling finish to the 2008-09 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men’s basketball season, the league released its all-conference award lists on Wednesday. The College of St. Scholastica and Martin Luther College, who were UMAC co-champions, each had two players on the all-conference first team. Bethany Lutheran College and Northwestern College were also awarded two all-conference first team players each.
Martin Luther’s Caleb Free received the most votes, earning him UMAC Player of the Year honors. Free, a junior, led the conference in scoring and rebounding, averaging 18.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Free also recorded Top 10 finishes in the league in assists, free throw percentage, three-point field goal percentage and blocked shots. Free was joined on the all-conference first team by teammate Greg Holzhueter, who averaged 4.6 assists per game. After leading the Knights to an 11-3 record in UMAC play, Martin Luther head coach Jim Unke was selected by his colleagues as the men’s basketball Coach of the Year.
Danny Schmitz and Troy Miller represented St. Scholastica on the first team as they held the UMAC’s top two places for three-point field goal percentage. Both players made over half of their attempts from behind the three-point arc.
Stephon Sese from Presentation College was named the UMAC Newcomer of the Year. Sese averaged 13.1 points per game while leading the league in field goal percentage, making 54.4 percent of his attempts.
In all, only two of the ten players named to the all-conference first team are seniors, which will make for exciting UMAC basketball in years to come. Bethany Lutheran’s Andy Wills and Tommy Saffert and Northwestern’s Stephen Hanson, who were all named to the 2009 first team, are repeat winners, having been named to the same squad in 2008.
University of Minnesota, Morris sophomore Dan Fragodt and St. Scholastica’s Miller were both selected to the UMAC’s All-Defensive Team. Fragodt and Miller were joined on the all-defensive team by Bethany Lutheran’s Shimi Colbert, Martin Luther’s Brian Gephart and Northwestern’s Eric Garst.
1st Team All-Conference
Name, Institution, Year, Position
Andy Wills, Bethany Lutheran College, Senior, Forward
Tommy Saffert, Bethany Lutheran College, Junior, Guard
Troy Miller, College of St. Scholastica, Senior, Guard
Danny Schmitz, College of St. Scholastica, Sophomore, Guard
Caleb Free, Martin Luther College, Junior, Forward
Greg Holzhueter, Martin Luther College, Sophomore, Guard
Stephen Hanson, Northwestern College, Junior, Forward
Reid Berens, Northwestern College, Junior, Forward
Stephon Sese, Presentation College, Junior, Center
Dan Fragodt, University of Minnesota-Morris, Sophomore, Forward
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Name, Institution, Year, Position
Jesse Taylor, College of St. Scholastica, Senior, Forward
Brian Gephart, Martin Luther College, Senior, Forward
Aaron Schultz, Martin Luther College, Senior, Center
Ryan Cannata, Northland College, Junior, Guard
Richie Ward, Presentation College, Junior, Forward
Kendall Proell, University of Minnesota-Morris, Junior, Guard
Zach Meyer, University of Minnesota-Morris, Freshman, Forward
All-Defensive Team
Name, Institution, Year, Position
Shimi Colbert, Bethany Lutheran College, Freshman, Guard
Troy Miller, College of St. Scholastica, Senior, Guard
Brian Gephart, Martin Luther College, Senior, Forward
Eric Garst, Northwestern College, Junior, Guard
Dan Fragodt, University of Minnesota-Morris , Sophomore, Forward
Player of the Year Award - Caleb Free (Martin Luther College)
Newcomer of the Year Award - Stephon Sese (Presentation College)
Coach of the Year Award - Jim Unke (Martin Luther College)
Men's basketball comes up short in last minute of UMAC championship game
Sunday, March 01, 2009 Melissa Young Duluth, Minn.—The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) championship tournament title was up for grabs, as the Bethany men’s basketball team took the floor of the Reif Gymnasium, Sunday afternoon against the St. Scholastica Saints. Although it looked as if the Vikings may pull through for the win, St. Scholastica battled back in the last minute of the game to take the 66-61 win and the title.
Bethany stepped out to take the early lead against the Saints, playing tough defense and holding the Saints to just 20.7 percent from the floor. The half was a perimeter game with hot-shooting Jeff Zimmerman (Nicollet, Minn./Nicollet) leading the team once again with 13 and going three for eight from three-point land. Senior Andy Wills (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) hit the locker room with 11 points, going three for five from outside the arc. The only other Viking to score in the first half was junior Stephone Frederick (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato East), with two from the line. The Vikings held the Saints' scoring leaders, Danny Schmitz, Troy Miller and Jesse Taylor, to under five points a piece for the half.
The Saints came roaring back in the second half to make it a ballgame, going on an early 7-0 run. The Saints continued to battle back against the Vikings who held onto the lead by as many as 16 at one point. With 1:17 left to go in the half, St. Scholastica took the lead on a big Chris Hamers three. The rest was history as Hammers made another three and Taylor put up a lay-up to seal the deal. The Vikings could not answer the aggressive St. Scholastica defense and could not get their shots to fall. St. Scholastica grabbed the 66-61 victory from the jaws of defeat to take the UMAC championship title.
Saints sophomore, Chris Hamers, was named the UMAC championship tournament Most Valuable Player after scoring 23 points and leading St. Scholastica to victory. Senior Jesse Taylor finished his career with a double-double, scoring 10 points to go with 11 rebounds. Fellow senior Kyle Allen brought his college career to a close with 12 points and eight rebounds.
For Bethany, Zimmerman was the star of the tournament, scoring 23 points against the Saints, hitting five from outside the arc to make his total 23 for the UMAC tournament. Zimmerman also led the Vikings on defense with eight rebounds. Wills finished with 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while junior Tommy Saffert (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) recorded 10 points, four rebounds and two steals in the loss.
The Vikings bring their season to a close with a 13-15 record overall and 5-9 in the UMAC while St. Scolastica improves to 17-10 overall and 11-3 in the UMAC. St. Scholastica now holds four UMAC championship titles.
Men’s basketball falls short in one possession loss to Northland
Sunday, February 22, 2009 Joseph Baer Ashland, Wis. – The Bethany men’s basketball team traveled to Northland College to finish their regular season on Saturday night. The game proved to be another close one, including 11 lead changes and seven ties. The LumberJacks eventually took control with under a minute left and escaped last minute chances by the Vikings to win 66-69.
Bethany controlled much of the first half and gained the largest lead of the game after Tommy Saffert (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) buried a three, eight minutes in to give the Vikings a 19-12 advantage. Northland then closed the gap to 34-32 before entering half. In the second half, the Vikings once against jumped out to a two possession advantage at 44-38, after an Andy Wills (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) three point basket. The two teams then traded blows until Northland grabbed their biggest lead of the night with 53 seconds left on behalf of a 15-4 run. Down by six with under a minute to play, Saffert hit a three to cut the lead in half for Bethany, and on the following LumberJacks possession, Wills stole the ball from Joey Brennan. Unfortunately for the Vikings, they couldn’t get either of their last second three point chances to fall in the last 10 seconds.
Wills led the way for the Vikings in his last regular season game. Wills finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Saffert added 21 points on nine of 15 shooting. Eight other Bethany players scored to combine for the remaining 19 points. Ryan Cannata led Northland and all scorers in the game with 30 points on 11 of 19 shootings. Cannata also finished five for 10 from beyond the arc. Joey Brennan added seven points and 10 assists for the LumberJacks.
The loss drops the Bethany men’s record to 11-14 (5-9 UMAC), while Northland improves to 6-19 (4-10 UMAC) with their season ending victory. The Vikings will enter post season play as the sixth seed and will have to travel to third seeded Northwestern (10-4 UMAC) on Tuesday night. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in St. Paul. The teams split their regular season series, with both teams winning at home.
Men’s basketball ousted late at Minnesota-Morris
Saturday, February 14, 2009 Joseph Baer Morris, Minn. – The Bethany men’s basketball team lost Saturday night to host Minnesota-Morris Cougars by a score of 78-87.
The Vikings controlled much of the game early on and lead by as much as 10 at one point in the second half. Unfortunately with 8:41 left in the game, Minnesota-Morris capped off a 19-2 run with a series of trips to the free throw line. From that point on, the Cougars never led by less than two possessions and held on to the victory.
Minnesota-Morris’ interior play became the difference in the game. The Cougars aggressive offense lead to a 26 for 33 night at the free throw line, a rebounding advantage of 50-24, and 25 second chance points. Bethany also ended the game with 26 personal fouls to the Cougars’ 10. The Vikings failed to make up the differences, but stayed in the game by making good on 17 of 35 three point attempts.
Tommy Saffert (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) led all scorers in the game with 22 points, including a seven for 12 night from beyond the arc. Andy Wills (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) scored 14 points and Kaleb Saindon (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) added 12 points, five assists, and three steals. David Peterson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato East) and Jeff Zimmerman (Nicollet, Minn./Nicollet) both finished with 11 points for the Vikings.
Daniel Fragodt led the way for the Cougars with a 19 point, 10 rebound double-double. Jeremy Bosch added 14 from off the bench, while Kendall Proell and Clay Fischer both finished with 13 points for the Cougars in the victory.
The loss drops Bethany to 11-12 (5-7 UMAC) while Minnesota-Morris improves to 12-11 (8-4 UMAC). The Vikings will finish their season next weekend at the College of St. Scholastica (Friday, 7:30 p.m.) and Northland College (Saturday, 5 p.m.).
Men’s basketball comes back from 14 down to beat Presentation
Friday, February 13, 2009 Joseph Baer Aberdeen, S.D. – The Bethany men’s basketball team fell behind 8-22 early in a road game at Presentation College Friday night, but stormed back for a 54-47 victory.
Bethany found themselves in trouble early after Presentation forced a Vikings’ scoring drought that lasted almost eight minutes. The Vikings then came out of a timeout and finished the last five minutes of the first half on a 13-4 run. The run was capped off right before halftime when Tommy Saffert(North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) set up a David Peterson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato East) three point bucket.
With a five point deficit to make up heading into the second 20 minutes, Bethany wasted no time grabbing the lead from the Saints. With 16:14 left in the game, Peterson drained another three point bucket to give the Vikings a two-point lead. Bethany never looked back and held on to win the game by seven.
Andy Wills (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) fought off some foul trouble to lead all scorers in the game with 14 points. Wills also pulled down six rebounds in his 26 minutes of playing time. Peterson added 13 points on five of 10 shooting, including a three for five night from beyond the arc. Jeff Zimmerman (Nicollet, Minn./Nicollet) scored eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Saffert added seven points and six assists in the victory. Richie Ward and Stephon Sese led Presentation scoring with 10 points a piece.
The victory moves Bethany’s record to 11-11 (5-6 UMAC) while Presentation drops to 7-14 (4-7 UMAC). Bethany will face UM-Morris on Saturday before traveling to St. Scholastica (Friday, 7:30 pm) and Northland College (Saturday, 5 pm) next weekend to finish their season.
Men’s basketball shuts down Crown, wins last home game
Saturday, February 07, 2009 Joseph Baer Mankato, Minn. – The Bethany men’s basketball team finished their home schedule on Saturday night against Crown. The Vikings struggled from the floor but found a way to get the job done defensively, winning by a score of 56-46. After the contest, Bethany fans said their farewells to Senior Andy Wills (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West), who celebrated his final home game as a Viking.
Bethany controlled the game, scored first, and never gave up the lead. The Vikings stretched the lead to 10 on multiple occasions, but Crown fought back to make it a one possession game with 13 minutes left. Then over the course of the next six minutes, Bethany went on an 11-3 run capped off by a Wills layup. They coasted on to the win from there.
Bethany’s defense was stout. The Vikings held the Storm to just 14 points in the last 13 minutes of the game, forced 35 turnovers, and forced Crown to shoot 32.5 percent from the floor. Bethany needed the effort to overcome a poor night from their normally potent perimeter offense. The Vikings finished the game with a 34.5 field goal percentage that included a 2-22 night from beyond the arc.
Jeff Zimmerman (Nicollet, Minn./Nicollet) led all Bethany scorers with 19 points. Wills finished with 12 points and David Petersen (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato East) added seven points, dished out three assists, and blocked two shots in the victory. Crown was led by a 19 point, 10 rebound double-double from Steven Holladay, who scored 11 of his 19 points from the free throw line.
The victory moves Bethany to 10-11 (4-6 UMAC) on the season, while the improving Crown team stays winless at 0-19 (0-10 UMAC). The Vikings will finish their season with four away conference match-ups. Next weekend they will travel to Presentation (Friday, 7:30 pm) and UM-Morris (Saturday, 5 pm) in hopes to keep their UMAC playoff chances alive.
Men’s basketball knocks off Northwestern in overtime
Friday, February 06, 2009 Joseph Baer Mankato, Minn. – The Bethany men’s basketball hosted Northwestern College, who shared the conference lead going into Friday night’s match-up. The Bethany crowd was dressed up in all black and cheered their Vikings to an 83-78 overtime victory. The Viking upset ended Northwestern’s nine game winning streak.
Bethany came out fired up and scored first when Stephone Frederick (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato East) finished a set-up from David Petersen (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato East). Unfortunately, less than a minute later, Frederick came out of the game with an apparent ankle injury and didn’t return. Then, at the 15.21 mark of the first half, Andy Wills (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) drew two quick fouls on the Eagles’ leading scorer Stephen Hanson, sending him to the bench until halftime. The Vikings took advantage of the Eagles’ absence and controlled much of the first 20 minutes, leading by as much as 12. The lead; however, was cut down to four at 42-38 when Northwestern finished last minute of the half on an 8-0 run, capped off by a stolen inbounds and a 28 foot buzzer beater by the Eagles’ Nathan Thompson.
Undeterred by the possible shift in momentum, the Vikings played well coming out of the half and held on to a slim lead throughout most of the second half. When the Eagles captured a one point lead seven minutes in, the Vikings answered back with a six point run capped off by a crowd-pleasing dunk from Dan Stauffer (Easton, Minn./Maple River). Down the stretch, Northwestern climbed back in with defensive stops and forced Bethany to miss five consecutive three point shots on five possessions to finish regulation. These defensive stands opened the door for a small comeback finished with 10 seconds to play by a Reed Berens layup to force overtime.
Tied at 75, a defensive overtime ensued. Bethany drew first blood when Kaleb Saindon (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) slashed through the lane and banked in an off balanced jumper. Their defense then carried the load, holding Northwestern to just three points on one for seven shooting in the extra period. The Vikings also made just one field goal in the last five minutes. Wills and Tommy Saffert shared a six-for-six overtime from the free throw line to ice the five point victory.
Down a big man, the Vikings played small and gave up advantages to the Eagles in rebounding, points in the paint, and second chance points. To make up the difference, the Vikings forced Northwestern to turn the ball over 18 times and shoot just six for 22 from beyond the arc. Bethany’s perimeter game was much more dependable. The Vikings finished nine for 21 from three point range and only turned the ball over 10 times. The Vikings also held advantages in assists, free throw shooting, and overall field goal percentage.
Wills and Saffert led the way once again for Bethany. Wills finished with 25 points in 43 minutes, while Saffert added 22 to go with six assists in 42 minutes of basketball. Saffert also made good on his first four three point attempts, finishing five for eight from beyond the arc. Jeff Zimmerman (Nicollet, Minn./Nicollet) finished in double-digits as well, scoring 10 points, while grabbing five rebounds.
Northwestern was led by post player Reed Berens, who finished the game with a double-double, scoring 25 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. John Duren was also an inside menace. Duran scored nine points and pulled down 12 rebounds, seven of them offensive. Other contributors for the Eagles, Brian Lecheler and Stephen Hanson finished with 16 and 14 points respectively.
The victory improves the Bethany men’s basketball team record to 9-11 (3-6 UMAC). Northwestern now falls into second place in the UMAC at 7-2 (15-5 overall) behind the one-loss Martin Luther team. Bethany will continue their season on Saturday against the struggling Crown College at 5 p.m.
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