Wes Pinera  gave Hamline's men's basketball fans a glimpse of a bright future Monday night. The freshman guard swerved his way through and around Bethel for a career high 15 points and added three steals in the bargain.

Unfortunately, the Royals took charge of the present, outrebounding the Pipers, 39-21, and claiming a 78-62 decision at Hutton Arena.

In addition to Pinera's heroics, Tyler Pannell added 11 points. Both guards hit three three-pointers on the night. But that was the highlight of a tough shooting night that saw HU connect on just 35 per cent shooting and only 24 per cent in the second half.

The Pipers started strong, jumping to a 20-13 lead only to see the Royals come back to grab a six-point edge. HU made a late surge to cut it to 40-39 at halftime but Bethel started the second half on a 12-3 run and pulled away from there.

Hamline fell to 6-8 overall, 3-6 in the MIAC. The reach the midway point of the schedule Wednesday night when they travel to Collegeville to face St. John's. HU returns home Saturday to host Carleton at 3:00 p.m.