Bennies dominate Bethel twice to move to the semifinals

CSB kept the momentum rolling and duplicated another win Tuesday night against Bethel, this time a convincing 73-55 victory over the Royals to move past round one of the playoffs and into the MIAC semifinals. The St. Ben’s basketball team picked up right where they left off in Tuesday’s first-round matchup against Bethel, taking a 17-13 lead thanks to a 17-5 run in the first quarter. The Bennies would sustain the momentum through the second quarter and take a 10 point lead (35-25) into halftime.

In the second half, there was nothing Bethel could do to stop CSB as they continued to score, going 14-for-26 (53.9%) from the field and rolling to the 18-point, 73-55 victory. This time it was again Carla Meyer doing the damage on offense for the Bennies, as she scored a career-high 27 points going 11-for-15 from the field, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc while recording seven assists and four rebounds. Sophia Jonas added 18 points, including four three-pointers for CSB.

“We were able to beat them the second time by scouting and preparing for them more than we did the first time,” Jonas said. “Going into playoffs, we knew we had to play the same way, if not better, because they were going to come for revenge. We knew what we had to do on defense, and that fueled our offense.”

The back-to-back games provided a challenge for head coach Mike Durbin, as well.

“Given that we had just played Bethel three days earlier, we needed to execute the same game plan that we implemented on Saturday, which we did,” Durbin said. “We have never played the same opponent in back-to-back games, so I didn’t know what to expect. I thought we were fun to watch in our final home game of the season.”

The first-round win is the first for St. Ben’s in the MIAC playoffs since the 2016-17 season when they defeated St. Kate’s 53-50 as the No. 4 seed. The Bennies have not earned the automatic NCAA tournament bid and won the conference tournament since the 2008-09 season.

“It’s always fun and more comfortable to be at home,” Durbin said after gaining home-court advantage for the first playoff game. “The support of our students was fantastic on Tuesday, and I believe our team fed off their energy and excitement.”

The Bennies will head to St. Peter on Friday for a 7 p.m. game against the MIAC regular season champions, Gustavus Adolphus (23-2). On the other side of the bracket, fourth-seeded Hamline (18-8) will head to Moorhead to take on second-seeded Concordia (21-4). The winners of Friday’s semifinal matchups will face off on Sunday for the championship. Bennies beat Bethel for four seed in playoffs. After losing to Bethel earlier this year, the St. Ben’s basketball team avenged their previous loss against the Royals with a 66-58 victory last Saturday in St.Paul.

Going into the game, both teams knew they would play each other the following Tuesday, Feb. 21. But the Bennies held a one-game lead, and the winner would get home-court advantage in the first round of the MIAC playoffs. The Bennies got out to an early lead in the game and never relinquished it, taking a 12-point, 42-30 lead into the half. CSB grew its lead in the second half, leading by as much as 15 points, but Bethel was able to make runs to cut the lead down to five points on two occasions in the second half.

Despite the threat, CSB was able to sustain its lead, ultimately holding on to win by an eight-point margin. Junior guard Carla Meyer led the Bennies with a game-high 17 points while adding five assists and two rebounds. Sophomore wing Sophia Jonas added 13 points, thanks to a game-high four three-pointers. The win gave CSB the number four seed in the MIAC playoffs and a home rematch with Bethel, who earned the fifth seed.

“The conference regular season went well,” senior guard Hannah Johnson said. “We competed in every game, and our playoff seeding reflects that. I do think we let a few games get away from us that we should have had, but the post-season gives us an opportunity for redemption.”