The No. 7 regionally ranked Bethany Lutheran College Vikings (24-3, 14-0 UMAC) won the 2023-24 UMAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship on Saturday, defeating the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets (18-9, 9-5 UMAC) with a 77-58 victory on their home court. The title is the fourth in program history for the Vikings and their second in a row.
The first half of the championship game saw both teams struggle to score with consistency. The Vikings shot 32.3 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes while the Yellowjackets shot 25.7 percent.
As both teams worked to find their shot early in the game, Bethany Lutheran’s offense started to heat up. The after a slow start, the Vikings steadily started to build a lead that went up to a 10-point margin twice in the opening half.
The Yellowjackets got two key three-pointers from J'Vaun Walker (6'0''-PG) in the final minutes of the first half to help keep Wisconsin-Superior within reach as Bethany Lutheran started to pick up momentum.
At halftime, the Vikings led 29-22 over the Yellowjackets.
After a relatively slow first quarter of offense, Bethany Lutheran caught fire and scored 48 points in the second half while making 50.5 percent of their shots from the field. The Vikings first led by double-digits when Mason Ackley (6'4''-F) threw down a dunk to put BLC up 44-33 with 12:26 to go.
Bethany Lutheran would continue to steadily build their lead, going up by 20 points when Xavier Patterson (6'0''-PG) hit a three, putting the Vikings up 75-55 with just 1:14 to go. Right afterwards, Jax Madson (6'2''-G) stole the ensuing Yellowjacket possession and flew down the court for an emphatic dunk to give Bethany Lutheran a 77-55 lead with just 55 seconds to go. The starters were subbed out shortly afterwards, and not long after that the Bethany Lutheran players and fans were celebrating a second-consecutive UMAC Tournament Championship.
Following the game, Jax Madson was named the UMAC Tournament MVP for the Vikings. In the championship game, the Bethany Lutheran junior led the Vikings with 27 points and added eight rebounds.

Courtesy of umacathletics.com

UMAC Final: Bethany Lutheran - Wisconsin-Superior 77-58

UMAC Semifinals:
Bethany Lutheran - Northwestern 82-75
Wisconsin-Superior - North Central 80-77

All-Tournament MVP: Jax Madson (6'2''-G) of BLC
Player of the Year: Hunter Nielsen (6'8''-C) of BLC
Defensive Player of the Year: Hunter Nielsen (6'8''-C) of BLC
Freshman of the Year: Trey Lauber (6'4''-G) of Martin Luther
Coach of the Year: Patrick Garvin of BLC

All-UMAC First Team 2024

Buckner

Dak

Nielsen

Patterson

Walker

First Team
Tyrus Buckner (6'7''-F) of Crown
Pal Dak (6'3''-G) of Minn.-Morris
Hunter Nielsen (6'8''-C) of BLC
Xavier Patterson (6'0''-PG) of BLC
J'Vaun Walker (6'0''-PG) of UW-Superior

All-UMAC Second Team 2024

Carroll

Fahrenholtz

Hoilien

Sagedahl

Simpson

Second Team
Cade Carroll (6'5''-F) of Crown
Josef Fahrenholtz (6'7''-F) of UW-Superior
Caleb Hoilien (6'5''-F) of Northwestern
Drew Sagedahl (6'1''-G) of BLC
Jashon Simpson (6'1''-G) of N.Central Univ.

All-UMAC Honorable Mention 2024

Ackley

Balge

Fahnbulleh

Feller

Holtman

Madson

Honorable Mention
Mason Ackley (6'4''-F) of BLC
Thomas Balge (6'2''-G) of Martin Luther
Henry Fahnbulleh (6'6''-C) of Northwestern
Nik Feller (6'7''-G/F) of N.Central Univ.
Tanner Holtman (6'3''-G) of N.Central Univ.
Jax Madson (6'2''-G) of BLC
Carrington McNeal of N.Central Univ.

UMAC All-Defensive Team 2024

Dak

Masek

Nielsen

Walker

All-Defensive Team
Pal Dak (6'3''-G) of Minn.-Morris
Jacob Masek (6'4''-G) of Crown
: Carrington McNeal of N.Central Univ.
Hunter Nielsen (6'8''-C) of BLC
J'Vaun Walker (6'0''-PG) of UW-Superior

All-Sportsmanship Team
Kyle Bilodeau (6'6''-C) of UW-Superior
Jacob Brooks (6'5''-F) of Minn.-Morris
Paul Frick (5'9''-PG) of Martin Luther
Chris Orsello (6'3''-G) of N.Central Univ.
Ryan Schneider (6'2''-G) of Northwestern
Justin Schrupp (6'3''-F) of BLC
Ben Smith (6'6''-F) of Northland
Alec Testerman (6'1''-G) of Crown