ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The Bethel University men's basketball team closed out its 2022-23 season with an 81-52 loss to Saint John's Saturday afternoon inside the Robertson Center.
Prior to the game, seniors
Sam Nelson,
Tommy Jensen and
Solomon Whalen were recognized for their time and dedication to the program.
The Johnnies (16-9, 13-7 MIAC) came out on fire behind the arc hitting eight of their nine threes in the first half. They finished 51.6 percent from the field while Bethel (9-16, 7-13 MIAC) finished 35.6 percent.
The Royals won the rebound battle by a narrow 33-31 margin but it was SJU took care of the ball with only three turnovers compared to BU's 13.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
• Bethel won the tap and
Zach Doely brought electricity into the building quickly throwing it down.
• The teams would trade leads over the seven minutes with fast paced offense and SJU's success from behind the arc.
• BU was stuck on 20 for a while SJU went on a 10-10 run to open the lead to 13.
Sam Nelson ended that run with a layup off a Johnnie turnover.
• The Johnnies shot 62.1 percent in the opening half sending BU into the break down 45-26.
Second Half
• The Royals couldn't get the offense going out of the half as the closes margin BU came withing the Johnnies was 17.
• BU's defense held SJU to a 42.4 percent clip in the second half and 1-of-9 from three-point range.
• The Royals got threes from Nelson and Jensen in the second while shooting 34.5 percent from the floor.
KEY PERFORMERS
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Tommy Jensen's four threes guided him to a team-high 16 points.
•
Zach Doely finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
•
Joey Kidder rounded out an even stat line with eight boards, four points and four assists.
