ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Big defensive stops down the stretch along with sharp shooting led the Bethel men's basketball team to a tightly contested 73-72 victory over Carleton College Saturday afternoon in the Robertson Center.

Strong work from the charity stripe where the Royals went 18-of-25 (72 percent) while allowing the Knights to just six attempts at the line improved Bethel to 5-4 overall and a 3-2 mark in MIAC play. The Royals are set for a two week break from competition before resuming their four-game home stand on Sunday, Dec. 30 hosting Wartbug in non-conference action.

Junior guard Granger Kingland led the Royals with 20 points, while senior center Derek Magnuson fell shy of a double-double with 14 points and seven rebounds. Junior guard Jack Jenson added 11 points for the Royals while senior guard Tyler Barker chipped in 10 points and a game-high six assists.

What had been a back and forth game from the opening tip foreshadowed a dramatic ending. Going into the final minute Magnuson, who played the majority of the half with four fouls, connected on a 3-point play opportunity to give the Royals their largest of the game to that point at 69-67. A missed layup by Carleton (3-7, 1-4 MIAC) on the other end gave Barker a chance to knock down a pair of free throws to make it a two possession game with 33 seconds remaining.

Carleton's Matthew Stritzel knocked down a three on the other end to cut it within one before Barker went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe. Lock down defense by the Royals led Kingland to intercept an errant pass before sinking the front end of a two shot foul.

Needing a three to force overtime, Bethel's defense led Carleton to struggle for a good look as Quinn Johnson eventually put one off the glass for two points to give the Royals a 73-72 decision.

The Royals held just two leads despite keeping the Knights off the free throw line in the first half. Kingland scored the game's opening bucket before a 3-pointer on the other end gave Carleton a lead all the way to the one minute mark. Bethel chipped away at a 10 point deficit to take the lead with a layup from Jenson before Carleton knocked down a jumper on the next possession to take a 38-37 lead into the locker room.