ST. PAUL – If this is what a renewed rivalry on the hardwood looks like, it will be a date to circle on every year's calendar. Bethel University outscored the University of Northwestern 13-4 in a five-minute overtime period to win 84-75 in front of a packed house at the Ericksen Center in the teams' first meeting since 2003.

With the Eagles trailing by two with 4.9 seconds to play in regulation, Northwestern's Cody Sprenger (Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) found Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) under the hoop for a layup as the buzzer sounded, giving the home team at least five more minutes of life. UNW won the tip and scored the first two points of the extra period, but Bethel went on a 13-2 run the rest of the way to win its closest-possible road game.

The Royals, now 3-1 three weeks into the season, looked like the better team early on, leading 6-0 and 16-8 off the bat. Bridgeport Tusler, Bethel's NCAA Division I transfer, made the best time of his nine minutes off the bench in the first half, sinking a trio of three-pointers and six of his eight overall attempts and twice giving BU a seven-point lead midway through the period. Facing a nine-point deficit, Northwestern responded with a 12-0 run over the course of four minutes down the stretch to claim a 30-27 lead with 2:44 remaining on the clock. Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) was the Eagles' answer to Tusler as the junior would finish the half with four treys and 14 points as UNW went into the locker room with a 36-33 edge at the break.

Northwestern's lead increased in the early minutes of the second half, reaching eight on layups by Carney and Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville). Bethel chopped the margin down to two, and reclaimed the edge on back-to-back makes by Brycen Wojta and Tusler to give the Royals a 61-58 buffer with 6:24 to play in regulation. That would be the max difference between the two teams for the remaining minutes in the second half. Northwestern turned the Bethel edge into a 65-63 lead of its own thanks to Cody Sprenger (Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle)'s layup, but Kyle Zimmerman knotted the score at 67-67 on a pair of free throws at the other end. Tusler came up big for his team on Bethel's last possession, making a contested jumper in the lane to put the pressure on UNW, who trailed 71-69, needing to go the full length of the court with two points to tie or three to win in less than five seconds. Cue Carney's biggest moment of the game – the buzzer-beating layup – before a three-turnover overtime for Northwestern to help Bethel win by nine.

Carney finished 11-23 overall and 6-15 from downtown to lead all players with a career-high 30 points, helping the Eagles make 47 percent of their attempts. Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School) and Sprenger followed with 14 and 13 points, while Kyle Ooms (Hollandale, MN/Albert Lea High School) grabbed 11 rebounds before fouling out of the game in the overtime period.

Bethel countered with a 52.6 shooting rate despite going 7-21 from outside the three-point arc. Tusler's line finished with the freshman going 10-13 overall and a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe for a 29-point performance. Zimmerman was nearly as successful, making seven of his nine attempts and 8-9 at the line for 22 pionts. Wojta added 23 points for the Royals, who out-rebounded Northwestern by a slim 33-32 margin.

Northwestern, now 1-6 on the year, will continue to seek its second win with its next opportunity coming on Saturday, Dec. 6 against Gustavus Adolphus College. Tipoff in St. Peter, Minn. is scheduled for 3 p.m.