ARDEN HILLS, Minn.—Bethel University's men's basketball team began its 2015 year with an unbelievable ending in the anticipated matchup with Saint John's University Saturday afternoon.
 
The Royals trailed the Johnnies 67-69 with 2:18 left in the game. Ironically, after SJU missed four free throws and BU suffered a missed layup with 2.4 seconds remaining, the score remained the same at the end of the contest. There's more to the story though.
 
In the final two-minute stretch, Saint John's guard Alex Schmitt, who was 24-of-25 from the charity stripe coming into the game, missed the first shot attempt of two one-and-ones. The Royals, who missed an open 3-pointer one possession earlier, had to go the length of the floor with 2.4 seconds and even though Kyle Zimmermann was able to haul in a football pass underneath the hoop, he was unable to even the game with a layup that rimmed in and out.
 
The loss gives Bethel it's first in loop play and evens the Johnnies conference record to 2-2. The Royals, who were tied for first place coming into the game, are still tied, but are even with four other teams—opposed to just one.
 
BU shot just 32 percent from the floor in the opening frame, but used a 58.3 percent effort in the final 20 minutes to claw their way back into the game. Bridgeport Tusler, who had 15 points in the first half, had a game-high with 23, while Kyle Zimmermann continued his streak of consecutive games in double figures with 15 and 11 rebounds. That marks the second straight and third total double-double of his stellar senior season. In addition to Tusler and Zimmermann, Brycen Wojta and Trevor Hall finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Hall buried a pair of 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions that trimmed SJU's lead late in the second half.
 
The Royals, who were outrebounded throughout the entire game 42-28, were still able to outscore the Johnnies in second-chance points 16-10. SJU, however, used a significant difference in bench production to stay refreshed throughout the 40 minutes of play.
 
Now 7-2 on the season and 3-1 in conference action, Bethel hits the road for a four-game stretch away from the Robertson Center Gym. They'll begin Wednesday night with a men's and women's double-header against Concordia in Moorhead, Minn. The women are set to tipoff at 5:45 followed by the men at 7:45 p.m.