Bethany Lutheran Bests Men’s Basketball, 94-72

WINTER PARK, Fla. – A second half surge by the Vikings proved to be the difference in Suffolk men's basketball's 94-72 setback to Bethany Lutheran Wednesday afternoon in the consolation contest of the Steve Moore Sunshine Classic at the Alfond Sports Center on the campus of Rollins College.   

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 72 | Bethany Lutheran 94
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-5) | Bethany Lutheran (8-3) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Three minutes into the action Suffolk sat in from 5-4. From there, the Vikings compiled an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to that put the Rams in a 15-7 hole.  

The blue-and-gold played catchup and outscored Bethany Lutheran 12-4 to level the playing field at 19-all at the midway point of the opening half.  

Another Vikings spurt, this time a 9-3 stretch, put Suffolk down nine, 31-22, with just under seven minutes to play in the first frame.  

Evan Cook took matters into his own hands. He rattled off eight unanswered points to make it a one-possession game, 33-30, with 4:24 on the clock.  

Five quick points by Bethany Luthern restored an eight-point gap, 38-30. Owen Walters and Devin Dzikas went hoop-for-hoop with the Vikings to close out the half to close the distance to five, 43-38, as the teams headed to the locker room. Walters' hoop was a turnaround jumper just outside the painter, while Dzikas knocked down a pair of buckets from behind-the-arc.  

Suffolk's deficit grew to a dozen, 52-40, in the first four minutes of the second stanza.  

Out of a Rams timeout, the blue-and-gold put together a 9-1 stretch to pull within four, 53-49, and got as close as one, 57-56, with just under 13 minutes left in regulation. 

Suffolk's scoring was limited to just three points over the next five minutes, which allowed Bethany Lutheran to restore a double figure advantage, 72-59, that the Rams never came back from.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Keenan Robertson put together a 20-point effort on an 8-for-15 showing from the floor to go along with four boards. 
• Cook contributed 17 points on a 6-for-14 effort from the field. He added three steals, two helpers and one carom. 
• Dzikas went 3-for-3 from 3-point land to finish with nine points. 
• Danny Yardemian, Walters and Cem Uner each pitched in six points. 
• Cole LeVangie grabbed eight rebounds. He pitched in two steals, two points and one swat. 
• Bethany Lutheran outrebounded Suffolk, 37-33. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk and Bethany Lutheran met for the first time. 
• Dzikas matched a career-high three triples made in just six minutes played in the first half. 
• Cook was named to the all-tournament team.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk will take a break for the holidays and is scheduled to return to action Tuesday, Jan. 2 at Curry. That Commonwealth Coast Conference match is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.