Mishawaka, Ind. — The Bethel Pilots jumped out to a quick lead on Saturday afternoon at the Wiekamp Center and came away with a huge Crossroads League victory over #25 Huntington, picking up their 4th win of the season over a Top 25 team, 93-87.
After an initial layup by Huntington, the Pilots took the lead with a 14-4 run in the first 5 minutes of the game led by Chikara Tanaka, who had 7 early points. Bethel would never trail again in the game as they took a 47-35 lead into halftime, behind a combined 33 points from Tanaka (13), Brandon Hunt (12) and Nathan Aerts (8).
The beginning of the second half was a different story as Huntington jumped out to a quick 9-0 run to cut the Bethel lead to just 3 points, 47-44. That would be the closest the Foresters would get the rest of the game as Bethel started to find their groove once again with Drew Lutz hitting multiple threes and a ferocious drop-step slam from Brandon Hunt that brought the Wiekamp Wackos to their feet.
Huntington continued to battle to the end and kept things close, but the Pilots were able to knock down 9-10 freethrows down the stretch to maintain their lead and pull out the win.
All five Bethel starters scored in double figures, led by Tanaka and Tanguy Touze, who each bullied the Foresters for 18 points. Brandon Hunt added 16 points and 9 rebounds, while Aerts matched Hunt with 9 rebounds to go along with 13 points. Drew Lutz was brilliant once again, scoring 14 points, grabbing 6 caroms and dishing out 9 assists.
Freethrows were a huge factor in the outcome as Huntington made just 13 of 21 charity tosses (62%), while Bethel was a proficient 80% (16-20). The Pilots also had an amazing 25 assists on 33 field goals made.
NEXT TIME OUT
Bethel will be at home in the Gates Gymnasium on Jan 11th to take on #4 Grace College in another huge Crossroads League clash. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.