Men's Basketball loses to Bellevue in final minutes

LA CROSSE, Wis. - The Viterbo University Men's Basketball team faced conference opponent Bellevue at home on Saturday. The V-Hawks fell to the Bruins, 53-39. 

Viterbo held their largest lead of eight after a Keegan Severn layup at 8:49 in the first half of play. Dakota Mannel made two free throws to send Viterbo into the locker room at halftime leading 30-23. 

Bellevue converted a three to kick off the second half of play, cutting the Viterbo lead to four. Robert Cunitz recorded a couple of three-point plays as the Bruins started chipping away at the V-Hawk lead throughout the second half. Bellevue tied the game back up after a layup, but Brady Polk made a big three to put the V-Hawks back on top with seven minutes left in regulation. With just two minutes remaining, Bellevue regained their lead and despite a Noah Fredrickson three, the Bruins finished on top. 

Cunitz finished the game with a team-high 14 points. Fredrickson came off the bench to contribute 12 points and Polk had ten. Jack Monis had a team-high seven rebounds. As a team, Viterbo shot better from behind the arc, shooting 46.2 percent, compared to their 42.1 percent from the field. 

Up next, the V-Hawks will travel to Dickinson State next Friday. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. CST and you can follow the action on viterboathletics.com or by following us on social media.