ARDEN HILLS, Minn.—Bethel University men's basketball battled out a 62-54 come-from-behind victory Wednesday night over Hamline University. The Royals (16-6, 11-6 MIAC) came back from a six-point half time deficit to earn an eight-point home win over the Pipers (11-12, 7-11 MIAC) and their second win in a row.

BU and HU started the game off trading buckets and went back and forth for most of the first half. Neither team gained a lead greater than five until the 2:02 mark when Hamline went up by six in the midst of an 11-2 run that found the Pipers up nine. Riley Dearring beat the buzzer with a step back three to cut the deficit to six going into the break. Hamline was able to fight off Bethel's attempts to take over in the second half and held on to the lead for the first 10 minutes of play. With 7:44 remaining Jack Jenson hit a shot to put the Royals up 49-47 and give them their first lead of the second half. A free throw from Bridgeport Tusler with 54 seconds remaining put the Royals up six. Hamline inbounded and drove the length of the floor to get a quick two, but the layup attempt was pinned against the glass by Granger Kingland, allowing BU to ride out the win from the FT line.



Riley Dearring stuffed the stat sheet for the Royals with 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Jack Jenson earned a hard fought 14 points—all in the second half—while Matt Ambriz put up 10 points and six boards. Derek Magnuson recorded his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Bethel shot 42.9 percent on FG's but was limited to just 21.1 percent from three. They compensated for this by dominated down low, outscoring Hamline 38-16 in the paint. BU also forced 16 turnovers and scored nine points off those. After allowing Hamline to shoot 60 percent from three and 52.38 percent overall in the first half, the Royals clamped down in the second half and held the Pipers to 23.33 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from deep.

Bethel goes on the road Saturday, February 10 to face off against Gustavus Adolphus College. The Gusties are currently seventh in the MIAC standings and are heading into the matchup riding a two-game win streak. Tip off is set for 1 p.m. in St. Peter.