Brian Smith led a balanced offense with 19 points while adding five rebounds, two assists and two steals as Bethany Lutheran bounced St. Scholastica 81-68 in their second and final game of the Loras Holiday Classic men’s basketball tournament Thursday before 75 in Dubuque, Iowa.
Cire Mayfield added 17 points and Hunter Nielson and Jared Milinkovich added 13 points apiece whilte contributing 13 and six rebounds, respectively, for the Vikings (5-7).
St. Scholastica lost despite getting a career-high 29 points from senior forward Jack Silgen, who had 25 of those points in the second half while also adding nine rebounds.
Nick Carlson of Canyon added 14 points for the Saints (1-8) and Quinn Fischer of Esko contributed eight points and 12 rebounds. Fischer, a senior guard, now has more than 800 career points.
Bethany Lutheran dominated inside with a 60-22 advantage in points in the paint to win the first neutral-site meeting since 2007 between the two former UMAC foes.
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CSS returns to MIAC play at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 5, when the Saints play Hamline in St. Paul.
