BOX SCORE
ST. PAUL – Gazing into the MIAC playoff picture, Bethel University found itself on the outside looking in prior to today's contest against Hamline, however, the Royals quickly changed its viewpoint with today's 76-61 road victory over the Pipers. HU was previously the No. 6 seed in the conference behind Saint John's University, yet with today's victory BU has propelled itself from seventh to tied for fifth with a 9-8 conference record.
BU came out in the opening period determined to fight, despite the absence of its home court. J.D. Robinson (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) opened the game with a trey to give Bethel an early lead. The Royals pushed the advantage to six on a
Daniel Baah (Sr., Farmington, Minn.) jumper before allowing a 17-6 Hamline run that put the Pipers ahead 24-19 with under eight minutes to play in the half.
Derek Dahl, who has played quality minutes in the last few contests, ended the period with a dribble drive floater in the lane to give BU the slim 33-31 lead.
Baah led the Royals in the first with nine points on three-of-five shooting, while
Luke Buttenhoff (So., Watertown, Minn.) added a fresh seven off the bench. As a team, BU finished the period shooting 48 percent and held its opponents to 40 percent. Bethel again benefited from its performance off the glass, outrebounding Hamline 21-11 in the period, and limiting the Pipers to zero offensive rebounds.
Although HU evened the game three minutes into the second half, Bethel slammed the door shut immediately after the final tie of the ball game. In fact the Royals recorded a 12-3 run after a 37-37 tie that pushed BU in front 49-40 with 14:20 remaining in the period. The Pipers inhibited Bethel with a full court press that narrowed the lead to four, but it wasn't enough, as the Royals responded from that point on with a 17-6 run that propelled BU to a 15-point lead and the eventual 76-61 victory.
Second-chance points was the dominating factor in the final 20 minutes of play, as the Royals outscored the Pipers 10-3 on second opportunities. BU also kept Hamline to 37 percent shooting, while converting 58 percent of its shots in the second. Baah continued to plummet the ball in the bottom of the net, scoring 10 second-half points while Robinson added nine and Kyle Zimmerman (So., Champlin, Minn.) provided eight and five rebounds.
Overall Bethel finished the competition shooting 52 percent from the floor, led by Baah who finished with 19 points on six-of-eight shooting. Zimmerman finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, three steals, and three assists, while
JD Robinson contributed to the trio of double-digit scorers with 12 points.
Rebounding was the answer to Saturday's victory over HU, as Bethel pulled down 37 boards opposed to Hamline's 27. Both teams coughed up 19 turnovers and swiped 12 steals, but the opportunity to have more second chances proved to be the decider. The Royals will return home Monday to play Saint Mary's University at the Robertson Center Gym. BU is eager for revenge, as the Cardinals stunned Bethel 51-49 in Winona on January 11
th.
