ST. PAUL – In a three-way tie for fourth place, BU looked to take down the University of St. Thomas Wednesday night and put themselves ahead of the field behind, yet it was the Tommies that came away victorious 71-56. With the win UST still has yet to lose a conference contest and remains one of the top teams in the country. The major proponent to the 15-point deficit was St. Thomas's ability to expose the Royals on offense, creating 12 turnovers, and turning each turnover into points. The Tommies claimed a 23-4 advantage in points-off-turnovers, as the Black, Silver, and Purple missed one free throw after a BU turnover.
Taylor Sheley (Sr., Backus, Minn.) was simply sensational in the first period, scoring 20 of the team's 27 point on 8-of-18 shooting, including 2-fo-4 from the perimeter. Sheley's 20-point effort kept the Royals within five at the halfway point, although Bethel led throughout the first 18 minutes of the game. The Tommies found a way to end the period on an 8-2 run that handed the home team the five-point edge.
The second frame found St. Thomas double teaming Sheley, and thus holding the senior standout to four second half shots. Bethel trickled the UST lead to three with just over 14 minutes to play, yet the Tommies popped open a cork on its rim when composing a 21-3 run over a seven-minute time span that put St. Thomas ahead for good 61-40. BU cut the lead to 14 with just under three minutes to play, but the Royal's purely ran out of time as UST exited the gym with a 71-56 victory.
In the second period St. Thomas garnered 17 points from its bench play, opposed to the Royals' 0. The Tommies also outscored BU in points off turnovers 12-0.
Kelly Swenson (Jr., Dawson, Minn.) led Bethel in the second with 11 points, while Sheley finished the half with nine points. Bethel vastly improved its shooting percentage from the first half, as the Royals turned a 33 percent shooting effort in the opening period into a 44.4 percent shooting effort in the second.
Throughout the 40 minutes of play, Sheley finished with 29 points, two rebounds, and two assists. Swenson also splashed 13 points and pulled down four boards, while dishing out two assists. St. Thomas completed the game with a 45.9 shooting percentage and outrebounded the blue and gold 40-33. UST also outscored Bethel 25-2 in bench points.
Despite the postseason picture being secure for BU,
Jon Herbrechtsmeyer and Co. would like to gather another regular season victory Saturday against Gustavus Adolphus College. The Gusties, who at one point in the season won 13 straight, have recently dropped three of its last five and look to put its recent history behind them facing Bethel Saturday. Tip-off on Saturday's matchup is set for 1 p.m., to be followed by the men's game at 3 p.m.
