NORTHFIELD, Minn.—The Bethel University men's basketball team continued its strong start to the 2015-16 campaign with a 76-66 road win over St. Olaf College Wednesday evening. The Royals (9-1, 4-1 MIAC) utilized a 10-point lead at the half as well as an 18-5 run midway through the second period to secure their fourth consecutive victory over the Oles (6-5, 4-2 MIAC)—a team picked to finish second in the MIAC preseason coaches' poll.
 
BU built a 36-26 advantage at the midway mark, but St. Olaf came out of the break with some fire. The Oles began the second half on a 15-0 run and before the Royals knew it, they trailed St. Olaf 36-41 with 16:03 remaining in the game. Bethel responded, though, with an 18-5 run that started with a Derek Magnuson jumper at 12:10 and finished with a pair of free throws by Brycen Wojta with 8:32 left.
 
Those free throws by Wojta were indicative of his performance throughout the entire night. The junior from Maple Grove scored 24 points, thanks to a 17-of-20 effort from the foul line. Wojta also collected seven rebounds and dished out seven assists.
 
Three other Royals scored in double figures, including Bridgeport Tusler, who finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Tim Hanson added 13 points and seven boards and Kyle von_Schmidt-Pauli recorded 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

St. Olaf's Riley Aeikens, who was 9-14 from the floor and 3-of-6 from outside the arc, led all players with 27 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and two assists.
 
Collectively, Bethel won the rebounding battle 33-27 and finished the night shooting 44.4 percent from the floor and 84.6 percent from the free throw line, opposed to St. Olaf, who completed just 37 percent of its shots from the floor and 68.8 percent from the free throw line.
 
The road ahead doesn't get any easier for Bethel, as they will now travel to St. Thomas Saturday afternoon to face the Tommies, who have an identical record as the Royals. The weekend matinee is scheduled to tip at 1 p.m.