ST. PAUL—Bethel University's 2015-16 men's basketball campaign came to a close Friday night, as the Royals (18-9) suffered a 63-46 semifinal setback at No. 7-ranked and top-seeded St. Thomas. The Tommies (24-2) limited BU to 19 first-half points and 30 percent shooting throughout the entire game.
 
Despite the 17-point loss, Bethel has many reasons to hold their head high. The Royals, who have reached the postseason 16 times in the last 18 years, held St. Thomas to their second-lowest point total all season long (UW-Stevens Point held UST to 56 points). Moreover, BU, who has a 4-3 postseason record under head coach Doug Novak, forced the Tommies into 16 turnovers, which was the most UST errors in a single game this season. The 16 forced turnovers led to a 20-9 differential in points scored off of turnovers. Bethel also outscored St. Thomas in the paint 28-12.
 
Scoring was scarce to start the postseason battle. The two teams scored 13 combined points in the opening 12 minutes. But the Tommies started to turn the tides at the seven-minute mark when outscoring Bethel 12-5 in the remaining minutes of the opening half. UST then opened the second frame on a 13-0 run, which gave St. Thomas more than enough in the final frame.
 
Trevor Hall was relentless Friday evening, as the junior guard turned in 13 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and four assists. The Blaine, Minnesota native has scored in double figures in four of the last five games with five or more rebounds during that stretch.
 
Also scoring in double figures was Brycen Wojta and Tim Hanson, who added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Hanson just missed a double-double with nine rebounds in 36 minutes played, while Wojta tallied three boards.
 
Four players scored in double figures for St. Thomas, including Cortez Tillman, Taylor Montero, and Grant Schaeffer, who combined for 45 points, while Ryan Saarela recorded 10 points and eight rebounds.
 
As a result of Friday night's loss, Bethel says goodbye to six seniors who played in their final year for the Royals. Together, the half-dozen players helped BU reach the MIAC Playoffs in every season, which included last season's title game.