ST. PETER, Minn. – In a back-and-forth postseason matchup, the Bethel University men's basketball team fell to Gustavus Adolphus, 85-80, in the MIAC quarterfinals Tuesday evening.
Sixth-seeded Bethel shot 47.3 percent for the night while the third-seeded Gusties went 56.3 percent from the floor. The Royals were 22-of-31 (71 percent) from the charity stripe while GAC was 8-of-11 (72.7 percent). Tuesday's clash saw 12 lead changes and 16 ties.
GAC held the edge on points in the paint 62-38 while holding a narrow edge on the boards 29-26.
The Royals finish the year 13-13 overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
• Trailing by as many as eight early, the Royals went on a 10-2 run over a 3:27 stretch evening it up at 18-18.
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Joey Kidder cashed in from long distance with 7:54 to go giving BU its first lead of the game at 27-26.
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Nick Burke knocked down BU's fourth three of the half giving the Royals their largest lead of the half at 34-31 with just over five minutes to go.
• With both teams shooting just over 51 percent, Bethel went into the locker room trailing 42-40.
Second Half
• The Royals largest deficit in the second half was six which came in the opening seven minutes.
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Payton Thomsen gave the Royals a one-point lead on three separate occasions midway through, including a second chance put back making it 62-61 with under 10 minutes to go.
• With 6:11 remaining,
Joey Kidder laid if off the glass giving BU its largest lead of the night at 70-66.
• After a 6-0 run by GAC the score would be tied two more times before the Gusties went on a quiet 4-0 run over a two-minute stretch.
• Thomsen once again got the Royals withing 78-76 with 1:54 remaining until GAC pushed it back to four with a 3-point play.
• A layup by the Gusties with 22 seconds moved it to a five-point advantage. Out of a timeout the Royals couldn't buy a bucket missing four chances behind the arc, three of them coming from offensive boards.
KEY PERFORMERS
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Joey Kidder played every minute finishing with a season-high 23 points, three shy of a career-high. He added six boards, four assists and four steals.
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Zach Doely notched a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double adding three blocks.
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Payton Thomsen also finished with 15 points and was 9-of-10 from the line.
