MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-- Men's Basketball was defeated at home by Bethany Lutheran College on Friday night. The Rams and Vikings battled toe to toe for most of the first 30 minutes before a surge in the middle of the second half gave Bethany Lutheran a 78-65 victory over North Central.

North Central (6-8, 2-2 UMAC) led only a few times in the first half and shot just .290 in the first 20 minutes. The Rams trailed by as many as 10 and opened the game just 1-9 shooting but found a way to lead 30-29 before a last second put back gave the Vikings a 31-30 lead going into halftime.

It seemed the Rams had gained momentum coming out of halftime and gained a 38-35 lead over the first five minutes of the half. But the Vikings answered with a 18-2 run over the following 5 minutes that gained them a 53-40 lead that prooved to be decisive. Bethany moved out to a 63-47 lead with five mintues left but the Rams got back to within 65-54 but that would be as close as it would get the rest of the way.

Freshman Travis Voigt (Green Bay, Wis./N.E.W. Lutheran) led the Rams with 16 points while junior Luke Chafin (Dayton, Ohio/Troy Christian) added 14 points. Senior Jordan Harrell added 10 points and 8 rebounds despite playing just 21 minutes with foul trouble.

North Central shot just .313 (21-67) from the floor while the Vikings fired an even .500 (31-62) including a blazing .607 (17-28) in the second half. BLC also won the rebounding battle 53-41.

The Rams will have a chance to bounce back right away as they take the court again tomorrow afternoon. The Rams host Martin Luther College (New Ulm, Minn.) at 5 p.m. in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference game.