Box Score
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - The first time the Bethel Royals and Saint John's Johnnies tipped off against each other, the Johnnies played the role of spoiler and defeated the Royals on their home court. This time, Bethel turned the tables and took one from Saint John's in their arena by a score of 78-62.
Bethel could seemingly not miss a shot during the first half, making 18 of their 29 shots including going 4-for-6 from behind the three-point arc. On the other hand, Saint John's made just 11 of their 33 shots and was a dismal 3-for-12 from three-point land, and Bethel held the upper hand at the half 45-31.
The two teams came out and played a much more even second half, but the Royals were just too much.
Mike Moberg (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) was the game's leading scorer with 21 points. He also had 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season, and swatted two Johnnie shots to maintain his conference lead in the blocked shots category.
Chris Vavra (Jr., Cambridge, Minn.) and
Tim Madson (Sr., Redwood Falls, Minn.) added 15 points apiece, while
Cory Laugen (Sr., Blaine, Minn.) contributed 14 points and
Nate Robertson (Jr., Forest Lake, Minn.) tacked on 10 to give the Royals five players in double figures. Both Madson and Robertson nearly had double-doubles as well as they had nine and eight rebounds, respectively.
As a team, Bethel out-rebounded Saint John's 47-30, with the majority of Bethel's rebounds coming off the defensive glass thanks to a Johnnie shooting percentage of just 32.9 for the game.
The Johnnies had three players post double digit scoring figures, including Cole Isetts with 14, Aaron Burtzel with 13, and Aaron Barmore with 12. Burtzel also led the Johnnies with eight rebounds.
The win boosts Bethel to a 7-4 conference record and an overall record of 12-4. Saint John's falls to 7-9 overall and 5-6 in the MIAC with the loss. The Royals are scheduled to stay on the road and travel down to Winona, Minn., to take on Saint Mary's this coming Saturday beginning at 3 p.m. for their next game.
