COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – For the third straight game junior Joey Kidder put in a career-high performance dropping 21 points in the Bethel University men's basketball 83-69 loss at Saint John's. Kidder was coming off a 20-point performance at Saint Mary's and 19 points against St. Olaf.
 
The Royals kept it close with three ties and seven lead changes in the opening 20 minutes where they trailed 34-33. A 9-0 run over a two-minute stretch nearly midway through the second aided the Johnnies in pulling away from BU.
 
Saint John's (10-4, 7-2 MIAC) had their best shooting performance of the year with a 62.7 percent clip while Bethel shot 44.4 percent. In its limited trips to the line SJU went 5-of-6 while Bethel was 14-of-23 (60.9 percent) from the stripe.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
• Payton Thomsen knocked down his lone three of the game giving Bethel its largest lead of the game at 10-5 with 17:29 to go in the half.
• The lead would change five different time as the team's went shot for shot
• Bethel's largest deficit of the half was seven with 5:24 to go, but then Kidder took over.
• Finishing the half with 15 points, he tallied eight of BU's final 12 points of the half which included a pair of threes.
 
Second Half
• It wasn't until the 11:51 mark that Saint John's lead reached double digits as Bethel struggled from the field.
• Kidder had his first points of the half knocking down a pair of free throws, with 11:03 remaining, that ended a two-minute scoring drought for Bethel.
• The Royals couldn't get the timely bucket they needed to keep it close while it felt as if SJU couldn't miss.
• Saint John's shot 66.7 percent (21-of-31) from the floor in the second as they led by as many as 17 down the stretch.
 
KEY PERFORMERS
• Kidder added six rebounds to his career-high 21 points that he tallied on 7-of-11 shooting.
• Thomsen finished with 14 points going 5-of-5 from the line.
• Zach Doely added 12 points and eight rebounds.  
 
UP NEXT
Falling to 4-11 overall and 2-8 in the MIAC, the Royals hit the back stretch of conference play Wednesday, Jan. 18 hosting St. Scholastica at 7 p.m. inside the Robertson Center.

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