WHEATON, Ill.—Bethel University's men's basketball team opened the 2016-17 campaign with a shootout against Heidelberg University Friday night. The Royals (0-1, 0-0 MIAC) came out firing on all cylinders, but the Student Princes (1-0, 0-0 OAC) mounted a comeback and recorded the crucial layup with 50 seconds remaining to secure the 89-87 victory.
 
BU went ahead 30-14 with 7:57 remaining in the opening half, but Heidelberg minimized Bethel's lead to 43-40 at the intermission break.  The Student Princes continued their momentum into the second frame, going up 81-72 with 6:59 left in the game. Trevor Hall took over with 5:49 remaining, though, as the senior recorded eight points and two steals in less than two minutes to bring the Royals within one point with 4:22 on the clock. BU then evened the score at 87-87 with 1:54 left, but despite having three open looks outside the 3-point line Bethel was unable to convert and fell by a final score of 87-89.
 
Five members of the Royals' squad finished in double figures Friday, including Bridgeport Tusler, who led the team with 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting, and Trevor Hall, who was the only player on either team to record a double-double. Tusler added six boards and four assists to his stat line, while Hall finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Even more impressive, neither player recorded a turnover in 30 minutes of play.
 
In addition to Tusler and Hall, Brycen Wojta and Tim Hanson each contributed 14 points. Wojta manufactured four assists, while Tim Hanson pulled down seven boards. Granger Kingland scored 11 points and hauled down seven rebounds in his college debut.
 
Bethel outrebounded Heidelberg 16-8 in offensive rebounds, which led to a 13-8 advantage in second-chance points. Moreover, BU recorded nine steals, opposed to Heidelberg's five.
 
The Royals will now play Luther College in the consolation championship at 5:30 p.m. Saturday evening.