Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn.—Despite clinging to a four-point lead in front of a packed house at the Robertson Center Gym Monday night, the Bethel University men's basketball team suffered a 68-81 loss to first-place contender, St. Thomas. The Royals (9-4, 5-3 MIAC) led 32-28 after the first 20 minutes of play, but a 9-0 run for the Tommies (10-2, 7-0 MIAC) to start the second half and a 12-1 run near the end of the half put the game out of reach for BU in the defeat.
 
Bethel trailed St. Thomas initially, as the Royals fought their way back from an eight-point deficit in the first half. But a 13-4 surge for BU—capped off by a 3-pointer by Trevor Hall—helped Bethel acquire its first lead of the night at 24-23. The Royals then held their advantage with an 8-5 run throughout the rest of the half. The Tommies used a series of scoring charges in the second half to regain the lead and take home the victory.
 
The biggest difference in Monday's decision was the rebound and free throw differential. St. Thomas outrebounded Bethel 43-25, as UST acquired 17 offensive boards. As a result the Toms outscored BU in second chance points 18-5. Moreover, the Tommies were 29-of-36 from the free throw line, while the Royals mustered a 9-of-16 mark from the charity stripe.
 
Brycen Wojta, who earned his first career MIAC player of the week award Monday afternoon, led Bethel with 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting, while also dishing out four assists and grabbing three rebounds. Freshman teammates Trevor Hall and Jackson Canfield each added nine points.
 
As a team the Royals shot 48 percent from the floor and a staggering 46.7 percent from downtown. But 56.3 percent shooting from the foul stripe and a 18-point rebounding disadvantage led to BU's demise Monday. Ironically, Bethel outscored the Toms in the paint 30-20 and forced UST into more turnovers than themselves (11-9).
 
The road doesn't get any easier for the Royals, as they welcome Augsburg College to the Robertson Center Saturday for the second game of a double header. The Auggies, who had several players injured earlier this year, were runner up in the 2013 MIAC Playoffs. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon.