South Bend, Ind. – The Bethel College Pilots men’s basketball took the short trip to South Bend to take on the IU South Bend Titans and used a 10-2 run in the final 92 seconds to seal the victory.
GAME VITALS
- Score:Â Â Bethel def. IU South Bend 80-70
- Records:Â Â Bethel (3-0) | IU South Bend (4-1)
- NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll: Bethel – No. 22 | IU South Bend – Not rated
- Location:Â Student Activities Center | IU South Bend | South Bend, Ind.
STAT TRACKER
- Gage Ott: 19 pts, 9-12 fg, 12 reb
- Tanner Shepherd: 19 pts, 7-13 fg
- Paul Forman: 17 pts, 8-8 ft, 7 reb
- Kyle Hartman: 8 pts, 8 reb, 7 ast
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- The Pilots held their largest lead of the game at 24-13 with 7:01 remaining in the opening half.
- The Titans took their first lead of the game at 40-38 with 17:04 remaining in the game and took their largest lead at 56-51with 9:24 remaining.
- The Pilots retook the lead for the final time with 5:19 remaining.
- The Pilots used a 10-2 run in the final 92 seconds of the game to turn a 2-point advantage to the final 80-70 margin. Kyle Hartman was key in the run with three of his assists in that span.
- Gage Ott finished with his eighth double-double of his career, with 19 points and 12 rebounds, one short of his career high. Ott finished the game 9-12 from the field and his season field goal percentage will drop on the season from 78.9% to 77.4%.
- The Pilots improve their overall record against the Titans to 60-6, dating back to the 1969-70 season.
- Head Coach Ryne Lightfoot matches Homer Drew for the longest win streak to open his career in program history with three straight wins. Lightfoot has a chance to rewrite the record this weekend with two games in the Bethel Classic.
COACH LIGHTFOOT SAYS
- “I thought IUSB did a great job of taking us out of some actions and they defended us hard and hit shots. For us, they did everything they could to take us out of our actions. They made it tough for us but I’m proud of our guys. They showed some resiliency that maybe we didn’t know we had. We had to play for the first time from behind in a game and they battled and played together, and I think that’s all you can ask for.”
NEXT TIME OUT
- The Pilots return home to the Wiekamp Athletic Center as hosts to the Bethel Classic with games against East-West (Ill.) on Friday at 8pm and Lincoln Christian (Ill.) on Saturday at 3pm. Marian (Ind.) will take on Lincoln Christian on Friday at 6pm and East-West on Saturday at 1pm prior to the Pilots’ games.
- The Bethel men’s soccer team is hosting a food drive, in partnership with LifeWorks Church, prior to their Saturday NCCAA North Central Regional Championship match against Judson and any fan who donates a non-perishable food item to Morey Field prior to the start of their match at 1pm will receive a free ticket for admission to both the soccer match and men’s basketball games. All donations benefit the Food Bank of Northern Indiana.