MARION, Ind. — The RV Men’s Basketball team fell in a tough matchup with the ninth-ranked Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats on Saturday.
The Pilots went down 10 points at 10:59 in the first half but battled and chopped the deficit to six with a jumper from Nathan Aerts at 8:18 for a score of 21-15. The Wildcats peaked the first-half lead at 13 with a free throw and a layup to make it 33-21 at 4:29, but the Pilots would go into halftime down nine points, 40-31.
At the start of the second half, IWU jumped to a 23-point lead at 15:28 with a deep ball, but the Pilots kept the lead from growing further. An Aerts three and Drew Lutz’s layup brought the deficit to nine at 9:59.
Jameir Jefferson slammed one home at 8:42 to make it a two-possession game, 60-55, but the tides turned, and the Wildcats jumped to double-digits at the line 66-55 at 5:58.
In the final minute, Trent Edwards hit a jumper to narrow the deficit to four; an IWU layup matched it, then Preston Phillips threw down a dunk, 78-74, Pilots down four.
After a foul with four seconds to go, Indiana Wesleyan sealed the victory with two made free throws to win 80-76.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Drew Lutz tallied his seventh 20+ point game this season and 26th as a Pilot.
- Bethel slightly led on the boards with nine offensive rebounds versus IWU’s three and 21-20 overall.
- The Pilots scored 15 second-chance points and 19 points off turnovers.
NEXT TIME OUTÂ -Bethel will play in an exhibition game with NCAA Divison I Wright State on Dec. 7, but the next regular season game will pick up on Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. against NAIA sixth-ranked Georgetown College (Ky.).