BOX SCORE

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Bethel University's men's basketball squad welcomed a seasoned Carleton College unit to Robertson Center Gym Wednesday evening for a mid-week conference matchup and despite a 52-50 lead with eight minutes to go, the Knights walked away victorious in a 75-67 win. Throughout the evening the Royals drained 40 percent of its shots from the floor, including 43 percent from downtown, yet fell to a Carleton squad that made 26-of-52 shots in the 40 minutes of play.

Play began physical and aggressive immediately after the opening tip off. The Royals opened the game on an 8-0 run on strong defense and numerous hustle plays. Carleton slowly chipped away at the BU lead and tied the game at 12 a-piece with just over 12 minutes remaining in the contest. Bethel then went on a 13-6 run that gave the home team a 23-18 lead at the six-minute mark. The Knights hit tough shots over the remaining minutes allowing Carleton College to come back and tie the game at 25, before plunging ahead 32-29 at the end of the period.

After the opening 20 minutes several players contributed to the Royal effort. Leading the way was Daniel Baah (Sr., Farmington, Minn.), who hit 4-of-9 shots from the floor for eight points. Taylor Hall (Jr., Blaine, Minn.) and Kellan Dahlquist (Sr., St. Cloud, Minn.) each added six points to the BU scoreboard.

In the second frame the Royals fell to a five-point deficit three minutes in, but held its head in the competition, battling back to a 40-40 tie with 14 minutes remaining. The Knights rallied again and built its lead to five throughout the next six minutes, until Bethel utilized two Luke Buttenhoff (So., Watertown, Minn.) layups on a 7-0 run that put BU ahead 52-50. Immediately Carleton went back to maintaining a five-point cushion and finished the night with a 75-67 victory.

Bethel was dominant inside Wednesday evening, outscoring the Knights in the paint 34-22. Key contributors to the Royals success was found in its front court players Taylor Hall and Kyle Zimmerman (So., Champlin, Minn.), who fed one-another towards 12 and ten points, respectively.

Daniel Baah led all players throughout the conference matchup, however, with 25 total points. Baah also boarded three shots, dropped two dimes, and forced three steals. The Royals only turned the ball over 13 times and compounded its lack of turnovers with 10 team steals.
With a two-game skid Bethel looks to right the ship as it hosts UMAC opponent, Martin Luther College Saturday at 3 p.m.