The two squads stayed close in the first half, and Bethany went into the break with a one-point lead. The Swedes used 36 points off the bench and out-rebounded the Moundbuilders by 13 to help Bethany grab a 77-66 victory.

"They got us down by five or six at the start of the second half," said head coach Clair Oleen. "We stepped up the defensive effort and got our lead to 14 or 15 midway through the second half."

Senior Rodd Williams scored a team-high 19 points, followed by junior Vincent Ferguson with 17. Senior Jason Schneider and sophomore Clayton Goggins both tacked on 10 points on the night. Senior Brandon Miller snagged 11 rebounds as Ferguson contributed eight. Williams and senior C.J. Littlejohn both had three assists while Williams headed the Bethany defense with three steals and one blocked shot.

"It was pretty balanced scoring again," Oleen said, "and we really dominated the boards and took care of the basketball in the second half. We forced them into turnovers and got fast break points."

The Swedes closed out their regular season conference schedule with a trip to the University of St. Mary Saturday evening. In an offensive shootout in the first half, Bethany walked into halftime with a two-point lead. However, the Swedes hit their stride in the second half, scoring 52 points and grabbing a 96-80 win over the Spires, marking three victories in a row.

"We got up by 20 or a little bit more," said Oleen. "We played everyone; we played 16 guys. That was two good road wins for us. We played pretty well on the road in conference; we were 7-2 on the road I think."

Williams put up24 points on the night, followed by Littlejohn with 15. Schneider tacked on 13 points as Ferguson and freshman Jack Sadowy each contributed 11. Miller snagged a team-high 10 rebounds as Williams totaled six assists. Williams snuck four steals on the night as Miller tallied two.

Bethany is 12-6 in the KCAC, finishing at third place, and 16-12 overall. The Swedes host sixth seeded Sterling College for their first playoff contest on Thursday, February 25 at 7 p.m.