WINONA, Minn. — For the second time in three nights, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team found itself squaring off against an opponent in the midst of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff chase.
 
On Monday, the Cardinals dealt Concordia rare home loss—keeping the Cobbers from securing one of the six post-season playoff berths.
 
And on Wednesday, more playoff implications were on the line, as Bethel—clinging to one of the final two conference playoff invitations—invaded the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Unfortunately, the Cardinals weren't able to replicate their performance of two days ago, as Bethel scored game's first eight points and never looked back in handing Saint Mary's an 88-70 conference setback.
 
After spotting the Royals that game-opening eight-point lead, the Cardinals got down to work, cutting the deficit to three, 19-16, one a 3-pointer by Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill.) with 12:00 remaining until halftime.
 
The Royals, however, kicked their offense into high gear, outscoring the Cardinals 28-9 over those final 12 minutes to take a 47-25 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
Bethel opened the second half in much the same fashion as the first, rattling off six unanswered points to push its lead to 28, 53-25. The Royals maintained a lead of 20 or more points for the first eight minutes of the second half, but once again the Cardinals began to claw their way back—getting to within 12, 71-59, on five straight points by Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.).
 
That, however, would be as close as the Cardinals would get, as BU pushed the lead back to 20, 81-61 with four minutes remaining in regulation, and held off one last Saint Mary's run to seal the victory.
 
Smith-Pugh finished with a team-high 17 points for the Cardinals, who shot 39 percent from the field (22-for-56). Saint Mary's knocked down 7 of 18 3-pointers and finished 19-for-24 from the free throw line.
 
Bethel boasted four players in double figures, led by Tim Hanson's 17 points, Brycen Wojta, Trevor Hall, and Derek Magnuson all chipped in 16 points for the Royals, who went 34-for-59 from the field—including four 3-pointers—and added a 16-for-21 effort from the free throw line.
 
The Cardinals (6-11 MIAC, 8-14 overall) are right back on their home court on Saturday, hosting St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. conference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.