The opening 13 minutes of play between the Pipers and Royals saw the scoreboard tied seven times before Bethel pulled ahead to hold an eight-point lead at halftime 40-32.

The hosts would hold onto the lead until Carl Hipp (Jr., Little Canada, Minn.) made a free throw to tie the game, 57-57, for the eighth time with eight and a half minutes to play. His second shot gave the Pipers a one-point lead.

Over the next 90 seconds, the only scoring came from Brown (Sr., Saint Paul, Minn.) and Victor Easter (Fy., Minneapolis, Minn.). The duo gave Hamline a seven-point lead, 64-57, with a pair of three-pointers.

The Pipers carried the lead to the final buzzer, although a late trey with two seconds to play from Bethel cut their final margin of victory to two points, 72-70.

Brown had 14 points and nine boards to lead the Pipers while Aguirre (Fy., Fillmore, Calif.) added 12 points. A trio of Pipers – Hipp, Levi Wenrich (So., Newhall, Calif.), and Dan Andersen (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn.) – added eight apiece. Jordan Schmidt (Fy., Northbrook, Ill.) dished out four assists.

Hamline moves to 7-4, 3-3 MIAC with the conference win while Bethel is now 5-5, 1-4 MIAC. The Pipers return home to Hutton Arena to host Saint Mary’s on Wednesday, January 6, at 7:30 p.m.