ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – With five scorers in double figures, the Bethel University men's basketball team earned a 77-65 conference win over Saint Mary's Saturday afternoon inside the Robertson Center.
Payton Thomsen led the balanced scoring attack with a team-high 19 points while
Emmanuel Schmitter chipped in 18 points off the bench.
Bethel knocked down a season-high 10 threes shooting 41.7 percent behind the arc. From the field they were 49 percent compared to the Cardinals 42.9 percent.
The Royals saw major production from their bench that accounted for 32 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
• SMU opened on a 7-0 run before Thomsen registered BU's first bucket with 14:33 to go in the opening half.
• Schmitter knocked down the Royals first three of the game kicking off a scoring frenzy. BU took the lead scoring 12 of its next 14 from behind the arc.
• The Cardinals got as close as four a hand full of times down the stretch in the first, but the Royals' defense held them to one field goal in the final 2:42.
• A steal by Thomsen with a nice transition pass to Schmitter allowed him to lay it off the glass in the closing seconds giving the Royals a 43-31 lead at the break.
Second Half
• The Royals maintained their second half lead despite it getting to single digits. SMU's defense held BU to just nine points in the opening eight minutes of the second.
• The lead jumped back to 12 for BU until the Cardinals rattled off nine straight making it 69-64 with 3:39 to go.
• After a
Payton Thomsen jumper the Royals put the finishing touches at the free throw line where their final six points came. Defensively they held the Cardinals to no field goals and one free throw in the final 3:30.
KEY PERFORMERS
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Payton Thomsen finished 6-of-11 from the field and was 3-of-6 from three. He was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe while added four assists.
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Emmanuel Schmitter saw 15 of his 18 come in the first half while going a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc.
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Zach Doely put in another double-double performance matching a career-high 17 rebounds to go along with 10 points. He added four assists and two blocks.
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Nick Burke finished with 12 points while
Caden Boettcher added 11.
UP NEXT
The Royals return to the hard wood a week from today on Saturday, Dec. 16 hosting Wisconsin-Eau Claire in non-conference action. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m.
