Box Score For 38 minutes Wednesday night, Hamline's men's basketball team was on the verge of shaking up the MIAC race.

Unfortunately, NCAA games go 40 minutes. Bethel scored the final six points of the game in the final two minutes to catch the Pipers, 55-50, at Robertson Center. Dior Ford (pictured) passed the 1,100 career point mark with 11 and Austin Johnson added 10 but the Pipers fell to 4-3 overall, 1-2 in the MIAC.

It was tough defense all night as each team finished with a 38.5 shooting percentage from the field. The Pipers grabbed an early lead and nursed it to a 27-22 edge at halftime. HU scored the first five points of the second half before the Royals (6-1 overall, 3-0 MIAC) began to rally. They cut the margin to one at 36-35 with 10:49 left and the battle was on the rest of the night. 

With 5:46 left, the Royals broke a 41-all tie with a pair of free throws only to see Quinton Garvis quickly respond for the Pipers. The teams traded points down the stretch with Garvis giving HU a 50-49 lead on a jumper with 1:49 remaining. The Royals came back to score four in a row and then clinch the game with a pair of free throws with less than a second remaining. 

The Pipers held a 36-33 reboundsing led by Austin Johnson's seven. Travis Johnson added six boards and had a game high five assists.

Hamline plays at Gustavus Adolphus (6-1, 2-0) Saturday. Game time is 3:00 p.m.