Bethel jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Bethany tied the game up. The Threshers grabbed another lead, this time by eight, but the Swedes closed to gap to two before Bethel went on another rain right before halftime, walking into the locker room up 30-22. Bethel extended the lead to 15 after going on a 10-3 run at the beginning of the second half. The Swedes fought back as the Threshers missed free throws and mishandled the ball, pulling within nine, but Bethel hung on to hand Bethany a 65-54 loss.

"Even though Bethel was 3-0 in conference, we certainly felt it was a game we should have won," said head coach Clair Oleen. "We didn't come out with the defensive energy or intensity we should have."

Senior Jason Schneider and junior Sol Byrd, Jr. led the Swede offense with nine points each. Junior Vincent Ferguson and senior C.J. Littlejohn both tacked on eight points as senior Rodd Williams and sophomore Clayton Goggins added seven each. Ferguson grabbed a team-high ten rebounds while Schneider tallied two assists. Littlejohn snuck four steals as freshman Colton Grove blocked one shot.

"The difference was the way we shot the ball," Oleen said. "I think we shot 25 percent in the second half. You're not going to win many games shooting like that."

Bethany ended the week by hosting McPherson College.

"Our three conference losses have come from the three teams with the best record," said Oleen. "Mac and Friends are probably playing the best of anyone right now. We needed to prevent penetration and keep them off the offensive boards and free throw line."

The Swedes struggled to stay in stride with McPherson in the first half, and went into halftime down by seven. Bethany jumped back and played a close second half, but with defensive lapses and scoring droughts, the game slipped away from Bethany as they fell 86-73.

"We were the first team in conference play that outscored McPherson from the free throw line," Oleen said. "But we gave up 23 offensive boards even though we had 20 of our own."

Ferguson had a team-high 23 points, followed by Williams with 16. Littlejohn added 15 points and Goggins tacked on nine. Ferguson grabbed six rebounds while senior Brandon Miller and Littlejohn each contributed four. Ferguson totaled three assists as Williams and senior Jason Schneider each had two. Williams led the defense with four steals.

"Shooting and turnovers were the major differences," said Oleen. "There were two stretches, one right before halftime and one midway through the second half, where we turned the ball over. It turned into layups and really put our defense in a bad spot. They scored 28 points off turnovers. If you take away those two stretches, then that was a pretty good college basketball game."

The Swedes are now 1-3 in the KCAC, putting them in eighth place, and 3-9 overall. The squad next heads to Johnson and Wales University on Saturday, January 2 at 1 p.m.