Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn.—After back-to-back conference wins last week, the Bethel University men's basketball squad dropped its second consecutive league matchup Saturday with a 67-85 loss to Augsburg College at home. The Royals (9-5, 5-4 MIAC) battled the Auggies (10-4, 6-3 MIAC) close the entire game, but a 17-3 surge for Augsburg in the game's final five minutes dictated the defeat for BU.
 
Bethel went into the halftime intermission with a two-point deficit, as a tip-in by Augsburg at the buzzer gave the Auggies a 37-35 lead. Augsburg had the same lead five minutes into the second period, but then stretched its advantage to 12 over the next three minutes. The Royals trimmed the margin to seven with 5:16 left to play before Augsburg went on its late-game push.
 
Perhaps the most telling component of Saturday's matinee was Augsburg's 32-19 advantage on the glass. The Auggies took advantage of this stat, outscoring Bethel 14-5 in second chance points. Moreover, thanks to Dan Kornbaum's 24 points, Augsburg outscored BU 46-30 in the paint.
 
Brycen Wojta scored a career-high 27 points in the loss, making 10-of-17 shot attempts and 5-of-5 from the line. Buttenhoff added 12 points, three assists, two steals, and two rebounds, while Tyler Schmidt poured in eight points. But between Kornbaum and Andy Seidlitz, who finished with a game-high 29 points, Bethel wasn't able to keep up down the stretch.
 
Seidlitz finished the game 5-of-8 from downtown, helping Augsburg go 7-of-17 from 3-point land. Additionally, the Auggies completed 62.5 percent (30-48) of their shots taken. Conversely, Bethel knocked down 8-of-18 shots from beyond the arc and made 26-of-57 (45.6 percent) of its attempts from the floor. Perhaps what was most impressive was Bethel's perfect 7-of-7 mark from the charity stripe, but what was least impressive was that it was the Royals second lowest shots attempted from the foul line in a single game all season.
 
Bethel will be tested again in its next matchup, as BU travels to Northfield Monday night to take on St. Olaf in the second game of a men's and women's double header. The Oles are alone in second place with a 10-4 record and a 7-2 mark against league opponents. Tipoff Monday is scheduled for 7:45 p.m.