ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team battled one of the top teams in the MIAC before losing down the stretch to Bethel University, 72-63 Saturday afternoon at the Robinson Center. The Scots received solid games from senior forward Wyatt Ferm (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) and sophomore center Jackson Henningfield (Lake Mary, Fla./Lyman), who combined to score 47 points in the loss.

The game went back and forth in the first half, with nine lead changes and three ties before halftime. Bethel (12-7, 9-5 MIAC) built a 23-16 lead midway through the first half when Macalester received back-to-back threes from Henningfield in an 8-0 to lead 24-23 with 10:08 on the clock. The Royals eventually regained the lead, 36-33, but threes from Henningfield and first year guard Eric Sathy (Cupertino, Calif./Homestead) sparked another 8-0 spree to give the Scots a 38-36 edge. Bethel's Granger Kingland hit a jumper in the final minute of the half to tie the score, 38-38 at the break. Henningfield was 5-of-7 from three-point range en route to 19 first-half points.

The lead exchanged hands four times over the first nine minutes of the second half, with Maclaester taking a 51-50 advantage on a basket by sophomore guard Gabriel Ramos (Dorado, Puerto Rico/Tasis Dorado)  with 10:47 remaining. Bethel went on a 12-2 run, including three three-pointers, to take the largest lead of the game to that point, 62-53 with 4:46 to play. Macalester came within five points twice the rest of the way, but it was not enough to prevent Bethel from sweeping the season series.

After shooting 48.3 percent from the field in the first half, the Scots cooled off in the second half, making 29.4 percent from the floor after halftime. Henningfield ended up with 24 points and eight rebounds, while Ferm finished with 23 points, eight boards and two blocks. Ramos contributed eight points, six rebounds and two steals. Kingland led all players with 27 points and 13 rebounds.

Macalester (4-14, 1-12 MIAC) returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 30 with a conference game at St. Thomas. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in St. Paul, Minn.