Box Score ST. PAUL (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team fell to Bethel University 75-61 on Saturday night in the second game of the Perkins Tip-Off, hosted by Bethel.

The first two minutes of the contest would go scoreless until a Brett Tester (Andover, Minn./Andover HS) layup gave the Saints an early lead. A little later, the Royals scored six straight points to take a 10-5 lead. Bethel then went on an 18-2 run to take control by a score of 28-10 with nine minutes left in the first half. The Royals would have a 39-24 lead at the half.

The Saints had a field goal percentage of 35 percent in the first 20 minutes, while the Royals shot 52 percent. Bethel scored 21 points off of 14 CSS turnovers in the first half.

The Bethel lead remained in double-digits for most of the second half as the Saints would get it down to nine on a couple of occasions, but in the end the Royals prevailed by a final score of 75-61.

CSS shot better in the second half at 48 percent to finish at 42 percent. The Royals finished at 52 percent from the field. Both teams committed 20 turnovers in the game, but the biggest difference was the Royals scored 31 points off CSS turnovers, while the Saints had just nine points.

Brett Tester (Andover, Minn./Andover HS) once again paced the Saints with 17 points. He also had a team-high five rebounds. Cole Mortel (Luck, Wis./Luck HS) had 11 points and Jonah Dahlman (Braham, Minn./Braham HS) had 10 points and eight assists. Taylor Hall scored nearly half of Bethel's points with a game-high 35 points.

The Saints (0-2) will be in the Twin Ports Thanksgiving weekend when they take part in the UW-Superior Merrill Thompson Tip-Off Classic on Saturday and Sunday. The Saints will open with UW-River Falls at 5 p.m. Saturday at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.