After ESU jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead on back-to-back three-pointers, the Swedes responded with a 12-2 run, taking a 12-8 lead. However, Emporia State scored the next 12 points and never looked back as they had five players score double figures, defeating Bethany 97-57.

Senior Jason Schneider had a team-high 16 points, followed by senior C.J. Littlejohn with ten and junior Vincent Ferguson with nine. Outrebounded 43-23, junior Sol Byrd, Jr. grabbed four rebounds while Ferguson and seniors Brandon Miller and Kendall Banning each collected three. Ferguson, Banning, Littlejohn, Byrd, Jr., and sophomore Clayton Goggins totaled two assists each. Senior Rodd Williams and freshman Tyrelle Millard both snuck two steals.

The squad then headed west to Colorado for the weekend to compete in the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Classic. On Friday, Bethany faced off against number two ranked Black Hills State University.

"Black Hills State is an excellent team," said head coach Clair Oleen. "They were in the final four last year and have all their starters back, and are ranked number two in the nation."

The squad got off to a rough start in Colorado as BHSU came out firing. "We played pretty well in the first half at times, but it got away from us just before half," Oleen said.

Bethany fell 88-58 to the Yellow Jackets.

"In the second half, things just fell through," said Oleen. "I wouldn't pinpoint it on any one phase of the game. We had a lot of breakdowns on defense, we didn't execute well on offense, and we didn't shoot the ball well, which makes things worse. We didn't block out well on the boards - we got out-rebounded. In all phases of the game, we got beat."

The Swedes closed out the week with a battle against Colorado College Saturday afternoon. "Colorado College was a disappointing loss even though they beat NCAA Division II UCCS the night before," Oleen said. "We still felt it certainly was a winnable game and a game we should have won."

Bethany led by three at the half, but Colorado College went on a 14-2 run to take the lead, and another 22-8 run late in the game to defeat the Swedes 80-70.

"Unfortunately, they made a run right before halftime, which put us up by 3 at the half," said Oleen. "The second half, I was most disappointed with our defensive breakdowns. We are not defending well at all, and that's a real disappointment. We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds, which has been a major, major problem for us this year. They shot well and we missed easy shots. We finished the game with our freshmen, and I thought they did a respectable job. But we felt it was another game that should have been chalked up in the win column."

Bethany is now 1-5 overall. The squad next heads to the Hastings Classic on Friday and Saturday, November 27-28. The Swedes face Hastings College Friday at 8 p.m. followed by a head-to-head showdown with Doane College Saturday at 2 p.m.