Box Score

ST. PETER, Minn. - While it was bitterly cold outside, the Bethel Royals hoped they could get back on a hot streak and continue to climb in the conference standings in their game with the Gustavus Gusties tonight. However, the Gusties iced the Royals 65-50 by eliminating their inside offensive game.

Although the Royals hung with the Gusties for the better part of the game, Bethel's posts Mike Moberg (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) and Nate Robertson (Jr., Forest Lake, Minn.) were held to a combined two points on the evening. Moberg did have nine rebounds, a block, and a steal, but was unsuccessful in each of his six field goal shots.

Once again, Tim Madson (Sr., Redwood Falls, Minn.) provided the bulk of Bethel's offensive firepower by scoring 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the floor and 3-for-3 from the free throw line in 30 minutes. Starting point guard Cory Laugen (Sr., Blaine, Minn.) followed close behind with 13 points, two assists, a rebound, and a steal. Laugen is averaging 14 points per game in his last four games. Unfortunately, he had his string of a school record tying 33 consecutive made free throws snapped when he missed his only shot from the charity stripe late in the second half.

Both teams had shooting percentages that hovered around 60 percent in the first half, with Bethel trailing by just five points at 36-31. But it was in the second half that the Gusties maintained a hotter hand shooting, while the Royals cooled down to make just 34.6 percent of their shots.

The loss sets Bethel back to 10-3 overall and 5-3 in the MIAC, while Gustavus improves to 7-5 overall and 6-1 in the conference. The Royals are scheduled to return home to take on Augsburg at 3 p.m. this coming Saturday for their next game.