ARDEN HILLS, MINN.—The Bethel University men's basketball team prevailed with a 74-67 victory over Macalester in their 2025-26 MIAC opener at the Robertson Center Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

The Royals improve to 2-3, 1-0 MIAC, while the Scots fall to 4-4, 0-1 MIAC.

Bethel 74, Macalester 67

Jay Neubert came off the bench to score 14 first-half points for the Royals. This included a three-pointer that gave Bethel their largest lead of the game at 23-14 with 10:49 remaining in the opening frame. 

However, Macalester responded with a 25-13 run that resulted in their 39-36 halftime advantage.

Five of the game's eight lead changes occurred in the second half, where Bethel grabbed the lead for good off Jack Charbonneau's layup with 3:54 remaining, which made the score 63-62. That kick-started an 11-5 Bethel run to close the game that iced them a 74-67 victory.

Neubert registered a team-leading 23 points off the bench for the Royals. Sam Gingras added 15 points, followed by 14 from Blake Schmitz. Nick Burke contributed 10 points and eight rebounds, while Charbonneau had a game-high 11 rebounds and eight points.

Noah Shannon had a double double 27 points and 11 rebounds for Macalester.

Both teams were nearly even shooting as Bethel had a .435 (27-of-62) mark, while Macalester notched a .410 (25-of-61) field goal percentage.

The Royals will travel to Crown for a non-conference game on Saturday, December 6 at 3 p.m.