BOX SCORE

SAINT BONIFACIOUS, Minn. - The Bethel University men's basketball program opened its season on the right foot Tuesday night by defeating Crown College on the road, 90-66. The Royals trailed the Storm by one point with 13:23 remaining in the first period, but from then on BU never trailed again. In fact, it was a 12-2 run with 6:37 to play in the opening half that initially provided separation between the two opponents.

Competition between the two squads started steady in the opening five minutes as each team had tallied eight points. Kyle Zimmerman (So., Champlain, Minn.) went to work from there, though, scoring nine points in the first eight minutes of the game to push Bethel to a 18-17 lead, a lead in which it would never lose. The Royals left no doubt over the next eight minutes trouncing the Storm on the road by going on a 17-5 run, which put BU ahead 35-22. Bethel was able to plunge ahead due to a Crown zone defense and a solid shooting performance by BU. A poised Royal team walked into the locker room with a 54-30 lead partly because of exceptional shooting from the floor, as Bethel hit nearly 60 percent of its shots, as well as quality defense.

The second half continued to exploit the Crown game plan, as Bethel maintained its gaping lead. Eric Hildebrant (Sr., Faribault, Minn.) delivered 14 points in the second half for BU, hitting four three pointers in the final 20 minutes. The closest the Storm came to closing the 24-point spread between the two was 17 points in the second frame, yet as soon as Crown started climbing the Royals diminished any hope by increasing its lead to 27 points with less than five minutes. At the end of regulation, Bethel stole the show defeating Crown College 90-66.

BU found great results in its outside game Tuesday night as the Royals finished the game with a 53.3 field-goal percentage, hitting over 38 percent from downtown. Bethel out-rebounded the Storm 44-29, including a 28-18 advantage in defensive boards. BU also claimed 16 offensive boards, which enabled the Royals to defeat Crown in second chance points 12-4.

Senior Eric Hildebrandt led the Royals in its opener, coming off the bench to score 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting from behind the three-point line. Hildebrandt was aided by Kyle Zimmerman, who added ten more points to his resume after his initial nine in the opening eight minutes of the game. Zimmerman also recorded 11 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist. Taylor Hall (Jr., Blaine, Minn.) started strong as well with his balanced 17 points, nine boards, five assists, four blocks, and three steals.

Bethel hopes to use this win as momentum heading into the Perkins Men's Basketball Tournament this weekend held at BU in the Robertson Center Gym Friday and Saturday night. The Royals will host Bethany Lutheran College Friday night at 8 p.m. and will discover its opponent for Saturday following the results of both games Friday. Live video, along with audio, as well as stats will be available for this weekend's games.