ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team fell behind in the first half and never recovered in an 85-69 loss to Bethel University in a MIAC game Wednesday evening in the Leonard Center. The Scots fall to 9-11 overall and 5-10 in the conference, while the Royals improve to 10-10, 7-8 MIAC.

Junior guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) entered the game with 998 career points and drained a three-pointer at the 11:08 mark of the first half to eclipse the 1,000-point milestone. He is the 25th Scot in program history to score 1,000 career points.

Down 16-12 early in the game, Macalester answered with a basket by junior guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) and a conventional three-point play from junior guard Robert Grace IV (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) to lead, 17-16 with 13:32 on the clock. From there, Bethel went on a 28-7 run to take control of the game with a 44-24 advantage with 4:41 left in the half. The Scots were able to reduce the deficit slightly before the end of the half, as a layup by first year forward Simon Weisserman (Chicago, Ill./Lake Forest Academy) at the buzzer made the halftime score 51-34 Bethel. The Royals shot 51.3 percent from the field in the half compared to 44.1 percent for Macalester and held a 27-12 advantage in rebounding.

The Scots made a comeback attempt early in the second half, outscoring the Royals 19-9 over the first six minutes of the half to pull to within seven, 60-53. Gold scored five points in the run, with Williams and sophomore guard Eric Wentz (Minot, N.D./Minot) also hitting threes. Although the defense tightened up, the Scots were unable to get any closer, coming up empty on offense after defensive stops. With Bethel up 69-61, the Royals went on a 9-2 run to lead 78-63 and put the game out of reach with 4:26 to play.

Bethel dominated the glass, out-rebounding Macalester, 52-24 for the game while scoring 22 points off 17 offensive rebounds. Gold and Williams each finished with 14 points to lead the Scots in scoring. Wentz hit three three-pointers and ended up with 11 points. Junior guard Tom Andreae (Newton, Mass./Newton North) recorded career highs of seven rebounds and eight assists to go with nine points. Zach Doely had 24 points and 15 rebounds to pace the Royals.

Macalester faces Saint Mary's University in a MIAC home game on Saturday, Feb. 3. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.