Loyola tops MVL 77-60

By JEN SEAVEY

Journal Sports Writer

MANKATO -- The Minnesota Valley Lutheran boys put up a fight against top-ranked Loyola, but lost 77-60 in the second round of the Bethany Lutheran College tournament Friday.

The Chargers, now 2-5, will face Granada-Huntley-East Chain today at 8 p.m. in the South gym at BLC for third place.

Although the boys are not satisfied with a loss, the team is happy with some of the things they did against a tough team.

"We played them hard for three quarters," said MVL coach Craig Morgan. "They ran out of gas, but I loved the intensity they played with."

MVL began the game with a strong first quarter, leading Loyola throughout. Baskets by Jacob Firle and Nathan Nass started them out, and although Loyola tied it at six, the Chargers took the lead again with a shot by Carl Struck. The Charger's biggest lead -- seven points -- came when Dustin Lendt drove baseline for two. Loyola's Truc Ho made a shot at the buzzer to lift Loyola to trail 24-20, setting the Crusaders up to take the lead early in quarter two.

Ho made a three-pointer and Tyler Westman stole to score and tie it at 24. The Chargers fought back and pulled ahead shortly after a jumper by Firle at the free throw line. But Loyola took back the lead on a fast break shot by Westman. Scoring slowed in the second half of the second quarter. Loyola pulled to 34-31 with :17 left on the clock, and Ho hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to leave it 37-31 at halftime.

MVL stayed behind by about 10 points in quarter three. Loyola took the largest lead in the first three quarters when Ho once again hit a three at the buzzer to make it 58-44.

"They're a tough team," said Andrew Bielke, who had 17 points and four steals for MVL. "They hit a lot of their shots."

In the fourth quarter, MVL began to struggle a little more against Loyola's consistent shooting and pressure. Nass made two shots at the end for the Chargers that brought MVL up to lose by 17, 77-60.

The leading scorers for MVL were Nass with 19 and Firle with 14 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Lead scorers for Loyola were Ho with 21, Tyler Westman with 18, and Bret Brielmaier with 13.

"We made adjustments we've never done before," said Morgan. "Andy Bielke stepped up and made some threes -- usually he makes others look good (with nice passes). I'm proud of the whole group."

"We wanted this win -- we wanted to prove we were a tough team," said Bielke."We'll be ready to come out tomorrow to prove something."