St. PAUL, Minn. – The Wartburg College Knights men's basketball team (7-5 overall) lost to the Bethel University Royals (6-4) 78-70 on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Knights had a trio of players in double digits, with senior guard Jaran Sabus (Urbandale) leading the way by scoring 29 points. Fellow senior guard Cam Kickbush (Reinbeck) added 11 points, with sophomore guard Max Smith Drahos (Cedar Rapids) rounding out the trio at 10 points. Freshman forward Aidan Weber (Phoenix, Ariz.) lead the team in rebounds by hauling in a career-high 11 boards in 27 minutes of action.
 
Weber scored the game's first points after connecting on a layup to give the Knights a quick 2-0 lead. Three-straight layups by Sabus put the Knights up 8-0 at the 16:56-minute mark. The Royals went on an ensuing 8-0 run to tie the game up at eight apiece with 14:37 to play in the first. The Knights took their final lead two plays later when senior guard Camry Moore (Waverly) put the Orange and Black up 12-10 after connecting on a jumper. On the following play, Bethel's Hudson Urbanus drilled a three-pointer to give the Royals their first lead of the game, a lead that they wouldn't lose as they closed the game out 78-70 to defeat Wartburg in its final non-conference match of the season.
 
The Knights trailed the Royals in field goal percentage (40.3% - 38.7%), three-point percentage (39.4% - 12.5%), rebounds (39-35) and assists (19-5). The Orange and Black led Bethel in blocks (8-4) and tied the Royals in steals with seven apiece.
 
The Knights will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 5., when they hit the road to take on American Rivers Conference foe Central College (4-7, 1-1 A-R-C) with tip off scheduled for 4 p.m.