Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - For the first time in a month, the Royals came away with a close victory, winning 54-52 and handing Gustavus their first conference loss of the season. Playing suffocating defense and keeping the Gusties constantly off-balance, Bethel held Gustavus to 34.5% shooting, including just 3-15 from the three-point line.

The Royals played an incredibly efficient first half, locking down the Gustie offense and making 50% of their shots from the field. Bethel led 34-27 on the heels of a 7-0 run to close the half. Nate Robertson (Sr., Forest Lake, Minn.) paced the Royals in the first half with nine points and four rebounds.

In the second half, Bethel stretched the lead to 10 and their hard work on defense kept Gustavus from taking advantage of a nine-minute scoring drought by the Royals. The Gusties were able to cut the deficit to four but Bethel's stifling defense held onto the lead. With under two minutes remaining, two consecutive threes by Gustavus gave them their first lead since 7:49 of the first half.

The Royals responded with two made free-throws by Chris Vavra (Sr., Cambridge, Minn.), pulling within one with a minute left in regulation. After a stop on defense, Rob Lang (Sr., Johnston, Iowa) grabbed a defensive rebound and made a quick outlet pass to Daniel Baah (So., Farmington, Minn.), who drove the length of the floor for the go-ahead runner with 27 seconds on the clock. Again, the Royal defense stood tall, forcing a contested jumper in the lane that caught iron and fell into Vavra's waiting arms. After Vavra made one of two free throws, the Gusties had a chance to tie or win with a last second, desperation three-pointer that did not touch rim, giving Bethel its second conference victory.

For the game, Vavra led the Royals with 13 points, including 5-6 from the charity stripe. Robertson also finished in double figures with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Gustavus' Ryan McPartland was the game's leading scorer with 15.

After the win, Bethel improves to 6-8 (2-7) and the Gusties drop to 10-4 (8-1). The Royals now travel down to Northfield, facing Carleton College this coming Monday, beginning at 7:45 p.m.