ST. PETER, Minn. – In a game that saw six lead changes and 11 ties, the Bethel University men's basketball team dropped a close MIAC battle with Gustavus Adolphus Saturday afternoon on the road, 89-86.
Up by a pair, the Royals missed a layup with over 30 seconds to go allowing the Gusties to nail the go-ahead three. With 10 seconds remaining and out of a Bethel timeout,
Zach Doely went one-on-one in the paint before kicking it out to
Jaren Tschetter in the far corner whose potential game-winning three rattled around and off the rim.
Tommy Jensen matched a career-high 21 points, large in part to knocking down a career-high five 3-pointers. Doely was right behind him with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting and a perfect 3-for-3 at the charity stripe. Tschetter finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Royals trailed through a majority of the first seven minutes before a 7-0 run capped by a bucket from
Myles Coleman put them ahead by three. A layup from Jensen with 7:55 left in the half gave the Royals their biggest lead of the day at 33-26.
GAC erased the Royals advantage with a three before the halftime horn sending BU into the locker room down 47-44.
Bethel trailed by as many as eight in the second half before a three-ball from Jensen quickly erased the deficit. The Royals held the lead for most of the way including a pair of six points leads until Gustauvs tied it up at 79-79.
Another connection from behind the 3-point arc with 3:03 remaining by Jensen would be the Royals final bucket of the afternoon.
It doesn't get any easier for Bethel as they host MIAC-leading Augsburg Wednesday at 7 p.m.
