The Gustavus Adolphus College men’s basketball team found out Tuesday night how good Bethany Lutheran College’s junior guard Tommy Saffert can be.

Saffert fired in a game-high 21 points and dished out five assists in the Vikings’ 77-67 nonconference win before a packed house at the Sports and Fitness Center.

“Saffert was very good tonight,” Golden Gusties’ coach Mark Hanson said. “They play a style we don’t see every day in practice. We’re just not that kind of team. They didn’t do anything to surprise us, but there’s a difference between preparing for something and actually seeing it.”

Saffert had plenty of help from his teammates as the Vikings used a 9-0 run just past the midway point of the first half to open up a 39-29 cushion. Saffert ignited the surge with a 12-foot, pull-up jumper before junior Jeff Zimmerman buried one of his four first-half 3-pointers.

Gustavus (0-1) got within 41-26 before Saffert kissed an 8-footer off the glass and canned two foul shots to help the Vikings gain a 45-38 halftime lead. Bethany drained seven 3s — including two by Saffert and another from 6-foot-6 senior Andy Wills — over the opening 20 minutes.

“Hitting those shots gave us a boost, even though we should have gotten a few more stops,” Saffert said. “We shot like 20 percent in the first half the other night but tonight both teams came out hot. We let them get a lot of (offensive) rebounds in the first half, but we took over more in the second half and that was a big key.”

Bethany (1-1) scored the first six points of the second half — two hoops from Wills and an inside bucket from junior wing Stephone Frederick — to stretch its lead to 51-38. Frederick, who finished with 11 points and nine rebounds — then hit two free throws and a short turnaround to keep the Vikings in front by 13.

The Gusties, which controlled the boards 41-30, trimmed the lead to 55-51 on senior guard Mike DesLauriers’ right-elbow jumper with 12:06 to go. Wills, who ended up with 17 points and nine rebounds, then nailed a baseline turnaround to begin a 15-8 Vikings’ surge.

Sophomore guard Jeremy Strong fired in a pair from beyond the arc, and Saffert put through his third 3 to push the Bethany advantage to 70-59 with 4:49 remaining.

“I thought we were much better at getting back in transition then we were the other night,” Bethany coach Rick Jeddeloh said. “Our guys really battled hard.

“They go to the boards hard, and we just kept fighting. We didn’t get them all, but we got enough of them.”

Bethany kept the Gusties at a safe distance behind the guidance of Saffert, who was masterful in taking time off the clock and still getting a good shot for his team.

“When you have a lead at the end, you want to control how the rest of the game goes,” Saffert said. “You don’t want to be tentative and slow it down, but you really want to make sure you get off a good shot every time down and then get a stop on the way back.”

Zimmerman put through 17 points and collected five assists for the Vikings. Junior post Ky Battern led the Gusties with 13 points and nine rebounds and junior wing Jessie Van Sickle scored 10 points.

Bethany takes on Wisconsin-Stout Saturday at Waldorf College and the Gusties host Buena Vista Tuesday.