NORTHFIELD, MINN.—The Bethel University men's basketball team dropped an 81-72 road decision to Carleton on Saturday afternoon.

The Royals fall to 11-13, 7-8 MIAC, while the Knights improve to 14-10, 10-5 MIAC.

Carleton 81, Bethel 72

Bethel led for just :41 of time in a first half that resulted in four lead changes and two tied scores. Carleton kicked off the game with an 8-0 run capped by Matt Drake's jumper with 14:29 on the clock. The driver's seat belonged to the Knights until Blake Schmitz's jumper knotted the game at 21-21 with 6:44 remaining in the first half. 

That ignited a Royals squad that grabbed their first lead of the game off Adam Mattes's three-pointer at the 2:53 mark of the first half, which made the score 26-25. Bethel didn't lead by more than one point in the opening frame, which ended with Jack Charbonneau's two free throws that narrowed their deficit to 34-33 at intermission.

Despite five lead changes and three tied scores in the second half, the Royals led for just 1:53 of time. Schmitz gave them their largest cushion of the contest off a layup with 14:46 on the clock, which made the score 46-41. It was all Carleton from that point forward, as they responded with a 36-16 run that resulted in their largest lead of the game at 77-62 with 1:09 left in the contest before they iced an 81-72 win.

Five Royals finished in double figures, led by Nick Burke's 17 points, nine rebounds, and two assists. Burke converted 4-of-7 three pointers. Jack Charbonneau and Adam Mattes had 15 points apiece, followed by Schmitz's 12 points, six boards, as well as his team-leading five assists and two blocks. Rounding out the double figure Royals was Sam Gingras, who had 10 points, seven rebounds, and two assists.

Bethel shot .444 (28-of-63) from the field and .417 (10-of-24) from deep. Carleton, who shot .469 (30-of-64) from the field, were led by Josh Engelberg's 19 points.

The Royals will conclude their 2025-26 season against Augsburg at Robertson Center Gymnasium on Wednesday, February 18 at 7 p.m.