ARDEN HILLS, Minn.—The Bethel University men's basketball team started 2016 the way they ended 2015—winning at home. The Royals (8-1, 3-1 MIAC) defeated Macalester College 107-95 Saturday and extended their home winning streak to 14 games.
BU's 107 points crossed the century mark for the first time since February 14, 2007. Moreover, the last time the Royals scored 107 or more was against Minnesota-Morris on November 21, 2006.
Bethel led the Scots (3-7, 1-4 MIAC) from start to finish, however, Macalester gave the Royals a run for its money late in the second half. BU led by 16 with 8:22 remaining in the game, but the Scots trimmed it to six just over two minutes later. Bethel never let its margin drop below six and finished the game on a 6-0 run to seal the victory.
Both teams shot lights out throughout the 40 minutes of play. BU ended the game shooting 66.7 percent (36-54) from the floor and 55 percent (11-20) from downtown, while Macalester finished the matinee with a shooting percentage of 54.1 (33-61) and a 3-point mark of 58.1 percent (18-31).
The Royals dominated the Scots in points off of turnovers (25-15) and points in the paint (46-16). Six BU players finished in double digits with one more scoring nine points.
Kyle von_Schmidt-Pauli led Bethel with 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-6 from downtown.
Bridgeport Tusler added 18 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while
Brycen Wojta and
Jared Nelson each scored 15. Wojta, who snipered five steals, was 4-of-5 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the free throw line, while Nelson was 5-of-6 from outside the arc.
Trevor Hall, who finished the game with seven assists, along with
Tim Hanson each poured in 12 points.
Macalester's Wyatt Ferm and Michael Gutierrez scored 34 and 32 points, respectively.
Bethel will put its 8-1 record overall and 3-1 mark against MIAC opponents on the line next Wednesday in Northfield, when they faceoff against St. Olaf College. The Ole's, who are 4-1 against conference foes, host the Royals in the Skoglund Center at 7 p.m.
