SAINT PAUL, MINN.—The Hamline University men's basketball team prevailed at the game's final buzzer courtesy of Bradley Cimperman's jump shot from the left of the key that sealed a 64-62 victory over Bethel at Hutton Arena on Wednesday night.
The Pipers improve to 3-1, 2-0 MIAC, while the Royals fall to 1-3, 1-1 MIAC.
Hamline 64, Bethel 62
After the Pipers trailed 30-25 at halftime, Cimperman would score 16 of his team-leading 25 points in the second half, where five of the game's eight lead changes occurred. Jake Veldman's three-pointer with 3:08 left in the game put Hamline in front at 60-58, and wouldn't trail from the point forward. However, Bethel managed to knot the game at 62-62 with 00:41 remaining.
That score remained intact down the stretch as Bethel regained possession off a missed Pipers three-pointer with 00:22 on the clock, where they called a timeout to draw a final play. Things didn't go as planned courtesy of Veldman's game-changing steal with 00:04 remaining, which provoked a Hamline timeout to plan for one final play. Veldman would inbound a pass to Cimperman, who hit the game-winning shot to seal a 64-62 win for the Pipers.
Cimperman's 25-point performance consisted of a 4-of-9 clip from the three-point line, and a 9-of-22 mark from the field. He added seven boards, two blocks, and two steals to his stat line. Mick Wherley had a team-leading 10 rebounds, five assists, along with nine points. Veldman led the way with three steals, and contributed eight points.Â
Payton Thomsen led Bethel with 26 points, followed by 19 from Doely.
The will Pipers travel to Saint John's (Minn.) on Saturday, December 2 for a 3 p.m. game.
