North Newton, Kan.—Spire men's basketball faced a tough first loss of the season against the Bethel College Threshers in their conference opener in North Newton last night Saturday, November 15th. Despite a highly competitive, back and forth battle and a significant evening from Jordan Brown and Terrius Walker, the Spires could not secure a victory, concluding the game with a final score of Bethel College 74, Saint Mary 68.

The game started off with Saint Mary's starting lineup consisting of Jason Parson II, Jordan Brown, Damare Smith, Kaeden Bonner, and Terrius Walker. Bethel College took an early lead, with Kaeson Fisher-Brown scoring two quick free throws. As the first half progressed, Bethel's Dominick Harris sank a 3-pointer maintaining their early lead to 7-2. The entire first half would follow in this pattern, with the Spires just unable to gain the upper hand and enter halftime trailing the Threshers at 29-37.

The second half saw continued dominance from Bethel as Harris opened with another three-pointer from deep. Following a series of scores from both sides, Albert Diarra's free throws pushed Bethel to a 42-29 lead. Despite attempts for a comeback led by Brown's successive three-pointers, and contributions from Terrius Walker, the Spires could not close the gap by game's end.

Brown was the top scorer for Saint Mary with 18 points, while Terrius Walker added 11 points. Jason Parson II was notable for leading the team with 8 rebounds. From Bethel College, Carmelo Yakubu was a standout, scoring 25 points.

The Spires are now looking to bounce back strong from this as they hit the road for their next KCAC face-off against the York University Panthers on Wednesday, November 19^th with a 7:00 p.m. tip-off in York, Nebraska at YU's Freeman Center. USM holds a strong season record of 5-1.