MIAC Men's Basketball Athlete-of-the-Week

The Bethel men's basketball team used a big week to get back in the MIAC Playoff conversation, beating Hamline, Concordia and Macalester in conference games in a span of six days. Taylor Hall (Blaine, Minn./Bemidji State) led the way, continuing his stellar senior season by averaging a double-double over the trio of wins. The Royals' forward averaged 22.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting .659 from the floor and .733 from the free throw line. For his performance, Hall was named the MIAC Men's Basketball Athlete-of-the-Week for the second time in three weeks.

"This award is a demonstration of Taylor's consistency all season long,” says head basketball coach Jeff Westlund. “His intelligence, combined with his intensity, hard work, and passion, have lifted us throughout this season—so much so, that it has made each player around him better.”

Hall had a huge game Monday, racking up 28 points, 13 boards and four assists in a 78-62 road win at Hamline. He followed that up with 25 points, 12 boards, five assists, two steals and two blocks, as Bethel snapped Concordia's seven-game winning streak Wednesday with a 79-72 home win over the Cobbers. He capped his week with an efficient 13-point, five-rebound showing in just 15 minutes in Saturday's 70-32 win at Macalester. This season, Hall's 21.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game both lead the MIAC. He's shooting .579 from the floor and .755 from the line this season, and also averages 3.2 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 steals per game.

This is Hall's second MIAC Men's Basketball Athlete-of-the-Week award, and third award of the season, as he was among the d3hoops.com team of the week between December 31 and January 6. That same week he helped the Royals go undefeated with a double-double average and a shooting percentage of 56.4 percent.

The three wins last week helped Bethel improve to 10-6 overall, and now the Royals are 6-5 in conference play and currently sitting sixth in the MIAC standings. Hall and his teammates hope to stay hot as they begin another big week. Monday, they'll travel across the metro to face Augsburg in Minneapolis at 7:30 p.m. before hosting back-to-back MIAC games. Gustavus visits Bethel Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. tip off, and Carleton comes to town Saturday for a 3 p.m. conference showdown.