BOX SCORE
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Bethel University's men's basketball team used a 49-32 second-half effort to win its fourth straight game over Macalester College Saturday in the Robertson Center Gym. After 40 minutes of play the Royals used a 53.4 field goal percentage and 48-16 advantage in points in the paint to defeat the Scots 85-65.
BU controlled the pace of play throughout the majority of the first half. With14:47 on the clock Macalester captured one of its two leads of the afternoon contest when going up 11-10. The Scots boosted its lead to two in two minutes,but the Royals closed the door throughout the remainder of the half, and the game. Greg Meyer (Jr., Brooklyn Center, Minn.) hit a three-pointer with time expiring that gave BU a 36-33 lead going into the locker room.
In the first half Bethel shot nearly 52 percent from the floor, while outscoring the Scots 22-12 in points in the paint. The Royals also jumped a number of passes that led to six Macalester turnovers and eight points off turnovers. Taylor Hall (Jr., Blaine, Minn.) led BU with 11 points, two rebounds, and two assists at the half way point, while Daniel Baah (Sr.,Farmington, Minn.) posted eight points and five boards.
The Royals opened the floodgates in the second half, increasing its margin to14 points in the first seven minutes. The 15-4 run was capped by a Luke Buttenhoff (So., Watertown, Minn.) layup, giving BU a 51-37 lead. Bethel stretched its lead to 17 when Quinn Gorski (So., Batavia, Ill.) hit his money shot on a running fade away off his right foot. Bethel kept its distance the remainder of the game and finished the MIAC battle with an 85-65 clincher.
In the second frame Bethel controlled nearly every stat line, outscoring the Scots 26-4 in points in the paint, taking a 16-3 advantage in points off turnovers that went hand-in-hand with an 8-0 advantage in fast break points. BU also outscored Macalester in bench points as Meyer's eight led to a 20-11 margin in bench points. Baah delivered 14 second-half points and two assists,including an eight-for-eight mark from the charity stripe, while Hall added nine more to his total. The Royals finished the period shooting 55 percent from the floor and 84.2 percent from the free-throw line, hitting 16-of-19 shots.
For the entire game Baah, for the second straight game, led BU with 22 points,grabbing five rebounds, while dishing out two assists and swiping a steal. Hall boosted his average, scoring 20 points and hauling down four boards. Kellan Dahlquist (Sr., St. Cloud, Minn.) also added great depth with four points,eight rebounds, and seven assists, as well as two steals.
The Royals will now attempt to increase its already season high, when going for five straight wins Monday night, as Bethel travels to Northfield, Minn. to takeon the Carleton College Knights. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
