Box Score Box Score
ST. PAUL—Bethel University was unable to complete its second straight upset attempt Friday night in the semifinal matchup against the top-seeded Tommies of St. Thomas, falling at Schoeneker Arena 59-74.
The Royals (14-13, 9-11 MIAC) shot an impressive 40.0 percent from outside the 3-point arc, but were unable to overcome a 19-point deficit at the halfway mark. The Toms (22-4, 18-2 MIAC), however, took the lead with 18 minutes left in the first half and never looked back.
Bethel jumped out the gates with the first bucket of the ball game, but from there UST went on an 11-4 run. The Royals trimmed the Tommies' lead to three with under 13 minutes remaining the half, but a few unfortunate circumstances allowed St. Thomas to build momentum with a 20-6 surge near the end of the opening frame.
Trailing 47-28 at the half, BU made a significant charge to get back into the game. A 6-0 run for the Royals trimmed the margin to 11 and Bethel had a chance to make it single digits with under 13 minutes remaining, but a BU turnover followed by a UST jumper bumped the Tommie advantage back to 13 and the Royals were never able to get closer.
The Royals held St. Thomas to 38.1 percent shooting from downtown and the Toms converted just 12-of-18 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Bethel drained 9-of-12 from the charity stripe and 6-of-15 from downtown. BU was outrebounded 37-30, however, and was outscored 15-5 in second-chance points.
Three players scored in double figures Friday evening. Included in the trio of top scorers was
Brycen Wojta,
Jackson Canfield, and
Luke Buttenhoff. Wojta had a game-high 19 points, six assists, and four rebounds. Canfield collected 11 points and four boards, while Buttenhoff pitched in 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
The Tommies were led by Marcus Alipate, who tallied 13 points, and a trio of other UST players that scored a dozen.
Bethel's exceptional season that saw the Royals reach their 13th postseason in the last 15 years comes to a close after Friday's defeat. BU will say goodbye to eight seniors, who helped the Royals reach the postseason in the last three campaigns.
