Anthony Monson wasn't about to make excuses following Kansas Wesleyan's loss to Bethany on Wednesday night in Mabee Arena after a 22-day break.
"We were a little bit rusty, not making any excuses," he said. "Bethany had the same amount of time off as we did, they just wanted it more tonight."
The Swedes knocked off the No. 19 ranked Coyotes 80-73 in the first action of 2022 for both teams.
"They hit the shots they needed to hit, they guarded us and made things difficult and we weren't able to match their intensity and that's why they came away with a win," Monson said.
The Swedes shot 45.9 percent from the field compared to 37.1 percent for the Coyotes, and Bethany turned 17 KWU turnovers into 16 points.
Wesleyan did have a couple bright spots as Jun Murdock (SO/Wichita, Kan.) scored 30 points, and freshman sensation Alex Littlejohn (FR/Newton, Kan.) scored 12 and pulled down a career best 18 rebounds for the Coyotes.
"You have to give a lot a credit to certain guys in our program, Jun Murdock and Alex Littlejohn," Monson said. "But we have to have a full team effort and we have to have guys playing that hard all the time."
It was nip-and-tuck the first 15 minutes of the game as neither team led by more than four points. It was tied 22-22 with 5:34 left after a bucket by Littlejohn when Bethany made a run, scoring the next seven points to take a 29-22 lead. The Swedes pushed their lead out to 10 at 34-24, and would take a 39-30 lead into the break.
The lead would grow to 14 in the second half, but the Coyotes would press back, cutting the difference to seven on Murdock's 3-pointer with 12:49 left. The run was orchestrated by Murdock outscoring Bethany 9-2 to make it 60-53.
The Swedes pushed the lead out to 11 several times, the last coming with 9:20 left, but the Coyotes got another spark by Murdock on a three-point play and a bucket by Littlejohn got the Coyotes back within six at 68-62 with 7:31 left.
Bethany retook a 10-point lead with five minutes left, but Littlejohn's 3 with 1:22 left got the Coyotes back within four at 75-71. The Coyotes were unable to get any closer the rest of the way.
Murdock's 30 led all scorers and the first time he had reached the 30-point mark in a Coyote uniform. It was the first 30-point performance by a KWU played since 2020 when Brendan Ganaway scored 31 against Southwestern.
Littlejohn's 18 rebounds helped the Coyotes to a 40-34 advantage on the boards. AJ Range (SR/Junction City, Kan.) added six rebounds.
The Coyotes are back in action Saturday at Bethel before a quick turnaround hosting Friends next Monday in the last game of the first half of the conference schedule. Tipoff in North Newton on Saturday is scheduled for 7 p.m., and 8 p.m. on Monday against Friends.