Box Score

ST. PAUL—Despite playing eye-for-eye in the first 20 minutes of play against the University of St. Thomas Wednesday evening, an 8-0 run for UST to begin the second half sunk Bethel's men's basketball team in a 56-65 loss at Schoenecker Arena. The Royals (12-9, 8-8 MIAC) were tied with the first-place Tommies (17-3, 14-1 MIAC) 28-28 at the half, but could not hold on in the final 20 minutes of play.
 
Luke Buttenhoff led BU in the first frame, going 4-of-6 from the floor for eight points and six rebounds. Trevor Hall also went 2-for-2 from outside the arc, which helped the Royals shoot 42.9 percent from long range and 52.2 percent from the floor.
 
As a team, Bethel finished the game shooting 51.1 percent overall and 30.8 percent from long range. BU was even with the Toms in rebounds at 28-28 and even outscored UST in the paint, 32-16.
 
But despite the stellar start, St. Thomas capitalized on 16-of-21 shooting from the foul line, whereas Bethel finished just 4-of-8. The 12-point difference at the charity stripe wasn't the only positive margin for the Tommies, as they also outscored the Royals 27-12 from 3-point land. UST finished the game 9-of-22 from downtown.
 
Buttenhoff finished the midweek affair with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Jackson Canfield—who received his second career start—added 10 points and six boards. Aden Casey mustered eight points for the Royals, while Brycen Wojta, Quinn Gorski, and Trevor Hall each had six. Wojta gathered four steals in the contest.
 
The loss drops Bethel down to 8-8 in conference play, which is just a half game ahead of Carleton College. The Knights have the tiebreaker over the Royals due to their series sweep this season. In order to give themselves a chance at the postseason BU will likely need to win Saturday on the road at Hamline University. The Pipers and Royals will tipoff 30 minutes after the women's game, which begins at 1 p.m., ends.