PLATTEVILE, Wis. – The Bethel University men's basketball team couldn't overcome a seven-point halftime deficit to No. 5th ranked Wisconsin-Platteville Saturday afternoon. Despite shooting 42.6 percent from the field, the host Pioneers shot 51.6 percent defeating the Royals 81-64.
 
Zach Doely continues to shine with another career-high performance going 12-for-14 from the field for 28 points. Jaren Tschetter added 12 points while Myles Coleman contributed eight points off the bench and a team-high six rebounds.
 
Platteville jumped out to a 12-2 lead a little over four minutes into the contest. Seven straight points from Doely pulled the Royals within three. UWP pushed the lead back to double digits for a three-minute span. Bethel got as close as two with four to go in the half. UWP pushed it back to 10 before Tommy Jensen beat the buzzer with a three-ball cutting BU's deficit to 39-32 at the break.
 
The Royals scored on their opening possession of the second half before UWP went on an 11-0 run. The Pioneers led by as many as 23, but the Royals kept chipping away at the deficit. BU got as close as 13 at the 2:27 mark before going to its bench for the final minute.
 
Bethel returns to the Robertson Center Wednesday evening hosting Hamline at 7 p.m.