ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The Carleton College men's basketball team could not keep pace with the Bethel University on the road, dropping a 93-81 decision.
Four Carleton (8-7, 4-2 MIAC) players ended up in double figures, but it was not enough to hold serve against the red-hot shooting for Bethel (6-7, 3-2 MIAC).
Matt Drake had a 21-point outing, his third 20-plus performance in the last four games.
Sam Koelling tallied 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting,
Patrick Smith scored a career-best 12 points by making 5-of-6 shots and reeled in seven rebounds, and
Josh Engelberg chipped in 11 points and added four assists.
The game began with a bang, as the two teams combined to hit 10 of their first 14 shots. Carleton got the better of the early burst, leading 14-10 after the opening five minutes. Bethel slowed Carleton down over the next five, and took a 21-19 lead on a Blake Schmitz layup. Soon after, the Royals reeled off a 9-2 run for a 30-24 lead with 7:23 left in the half.
A trio of
Patrick Smith buckets sparked an 11-1 response that put the Knights back on top 35-31 with 4:19 to go. Bethel then retook the lead at 36-35 with back-to-back baskets. As the half wound down,
Tysen Hayes and Blake Schmitz exchanged a pair of triples each. Schmitz canned his second just before the halftime buzzer to put Bethel up 42-41 at the break. That final make added another lead change to a rollicking half that had 16 of them. Carleton spread the wealth in the first stanza, as six Knights scored more than five points, but none had more than ten.
The second half began with more back-and-forth, but Bethel cranked out a 12-4 run to gain a 13-point lead, a 62-49 edge barely five minutes into the period. The Royals held Carleton at bay for the remainder of the game with the help of a massive second half by Schmitz, who scored 22 of his career-high 36 points in the frame.
In addition to Schmitz's massive game that included going 12-of-15 from the floor in addition to five steals and four assists, Bethel benefited from 15 points apiece from Nick Burke and Jay Neubert, plus 11 more tallies from Jack Charbonneau.
Bethel—a squad that entered the contest shooting only 30.0 percent from beyond the arc—made 11-of its first-21 attempts (52.4 percent) from 3-point range. The Royals finished the day 13-of-30 (43.3 percent) from long range while shooting 57.6 percent overall.
Carleton hit 53.4 percent of its shots on the afternoon but went just 5-for-16 (31.3 percent) from outside. The Knights dominated on the glass, garnering 35 rebounds to 24 for Bethel, but the Knights lost the turnover battle 14-7.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton heads back on the road, matching up with Hamline University on Wednesday, Jan. 14. The men's game will tip off at 7:30 as the back half of a double-header.
