Minneapolis, MN — Tonight, the North Central University (NCU) Rams fought hard against the Bethany Lutheran College (BLC) Vikings in their first meeting this season. A frustrating event for our NCU men, the night ended in a 88-58 win for the visiting Vikings. Despite the loss, the Rams left the court knowing they are capable of more.

The Vikings won the jump ball, and almost instantly scored off a driving attack to the rim, setting the tone for the rest of this affair. Each team was trading buckets back and forth for the first six minutes of action. Unfortunately, the Rams would take an early blow having to send sophomore guard Tanner Holtman to the bench when he picked up his second personal foul with 14:13 to go in the half. BLC was running their offense like a well-oiled machine, resulting in an outstanding 7-9 clip from three point range, a majority of those made threes coming off of quality kick out looks. Zach Kjeseth led the first half in points for the Blue and Gold with 8 points on 4-6 shooting. After a continued struggle to string any defensive stops together, the Rams headed into the break down 45-29, knowing they would need to make adjustments in the ensuing half.

Coming into the second half, NCU was determined to mount a comeback. NCU's veteran graduate guards Caden Freetly  and Zach Kjeseth began to rally the team through there improved offensive play early in the second half. Four minutes in, Freetly would follow up a top of the key steal with a fast break one-handed slam that would ignite the gym and cause the Vikings to take a timeout. Kjeseth was able to get himself going offensively with multiple crafty midrange buckets. NCU would bring it to within eight points at the 15 minute mark, but would soon loose momentum due to costly turnovers, second-chance points, and offensive execution from the Vikings. Despite the early surge from the North Central, the Vikings handily stretched the lead to 30 points before it was all said and done. In the end, Bethany Lutheran walked away with the commanding 88-58 win.

Top Performers:
 

Zach Kjeseth (Wabasha, MN): 22 points and 3 rebounds
Caden Freetly (Farmington, MN): 12 points, 1 rebound, and 2 steals
Kayden Sund (Golden, CO): 11 points and 6 rebounds

Looking Ahead:

Back at it again tomorrow afternoon, January 14th, the Rams will be taking on Martin Luther College at 3:00pm in the Clark-Danielson Gymnasium at North Central University.

 All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages for updates on the men's basketball.

Click here to see game stats.