01/27/07

Despite Will Maupins’ team high 22 points and 11 rebounds, the visiting Saints fell to Bethany Lutheran 68-60 on Saturday afternoon in Mankato, Minn.

The Saints jumped to an early 6-0 lead with four points by Kyle Allen. They would stretch that lead to as many as 11 points with 12:32 remaining in the half as a Jesse Taylor lay-up put St. Scholastica up 23-12.

Bethany Lutheran battled back though and chipped away at the Saints’ lead until they gained their first lead of the game with just over one minute to play in the first half. The Vikings then took a 41-37 lead into halftime.

With 14 minutes to play, St. Scholastica trailed by 12 points – the Vikings’ largest lead of the game. At the 11-minute mark, they cut the lead to two behind a Brady Zubke jumper, but the Saints could not complete the comeback. Bethany fired back with four points by Alfonso Mayfield, who led all players in scoring with 28 points.

Three late free throws sealed the game as Bethany gained the victory over the Saints.

For St. Scholastica, Zubke had 12 points while senior Derek Johnson added 9 and went 3-for-4 from three-point range. Taylor had a team high 5 assists.

Behind Mayfield, Bethany Lutheran was led by Travis Priem with 13 points and Dewan Grant with 11.

The Saints shot 58.1 percent from the field while the Vikings only managed 39.1 percent for the game. However, Bethany went 12-for-14 from the free throw line while the Saints were 6-for-14.

The loss drops the Saints to 4-3 in UMAC play and 7-11 overall while the Vikings climbed to 9-9 overall and 5-2 in conference play.