ARDEN HILLS, Minn.—Bethel University went toe-to-toe with No. 20-ranked St. Olaf College Saturday afternoon and came away victorious in the heavyweight matchup by a final score of 67-57. Ironically, despite the fact that it was the Royals first game in MIAC play this year, Saturday's matinee felt like a playoff game throughout the entire 40 minutes of play.
 
The Royals hung onto the lead throughout the entire game, but BU led by just one point with 3:25 remaining in the contest. It was Kyle von Schmidt-Pauli who turned the jets on at that point, scoring five consecutive points for the Navy and Vegas to provide breathing room for both the Bethel bench and the home crowd. In addition to "VSP", Jared Nelson also provided a great spark for the Royals, as the guard tallied eight second-half points off the bench, including a 3-pointer with 1:33 left in the game.
 
Bethel then secured the victory with 5-of-6 shooting from the free throw line in the final 53 seconds. Their clutch shooting from the charity stripe was indicative of the entire game, as the Royals finished 13-of-15 at the foul line.
 
Kyle Zimmermann had a monster game, as the 6-3 post player was able to collect 14 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks, and five steals against an Ole lineup that had three starters over 6-5. Zimmermann shot 5-of-8 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. He also balanced his 14 rebounds with seven offensive and seven defensive.
 
Bridgeport Tusler led BU in shooting for the second consecutive game, putting up 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Tusler and Zimmermann were joined alongside Brycen Wojta and Jared Nelson in double figures, as Wojta poured in 14 points and Nelson added 11. Trevor Hall also had a balanced day with four points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
 
As a team, Bethel shot just 38 percent from the floor and 25 percent from long range, but the Royals were able to out-board the Oles 38-34 and limit their own turnovers to eight, opposed to St. Olaf's 18. That misnomer led to a 19-7 advantage in points off turnovers. In addition, BU outscored the Oles inside 34-20, which is quite the feat considering the height differential.
 
The Royals will attempt to make it two in a row Monday night, when they travel to Winona, Minn., for their first conference road test against the Cardinals from Saint Mary's. Tipoff between SMU and BU is scheduled to follow the women's game, which starts at 5:45 p.m.