INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Pilots held a three-point lead at halftime against the Marian Knights on Wednesday night but fell behind, being outscored 44-34 in the second half.
Drew Lutz was near a double-double with 28 points and eight rebounds while shooting 10-25 (40%) from the field and a perfect 6-6 at the charity stripe. Clay Hilliard scored 16 points and set a season-high four triples and six field goals over the Knights.
The Pilots traded buckets with the Knights at 13:36 in the first half with a layup by Preston Phillips to tie the game 15-15 with Gus Etchison nailing a jumper in the next possession, but Clay Hilliard sunk a triple to give the Pilots an 18-17 lead at 13:06.
Phillips completed the three-point play at 8:18 after he was fouled on a layup and growing the lead to eight points, 32-24.
Marian retook the lead at 13:51 on a mid-range jumper by Gavin Foe, with Phillips responding with a layup to retake the advantage 57-56.
The Knights quickly responded with three straight buckets with Dylan Moles’ jumper, Jackson Ames’ layup, then Josh Bryan’s deep ball to gain a six-point lead, 63-57 at 11:31.
Hutchinson was fouled on a layup at 7:21 that fell in and went to the line to complete a three-point play that cushioned the Knights’s lead at 10 points and never fell below a five-point advantage to eventually defend their home court with an 85-78 Knights win.
The Pilots drop to third place in the Crossroads League standings with a conference record of 4-2 after Indiana Wesleyan takes sole possession of second place at 5-1. Marian sits in the fourth game behind the Pilots at 3-3.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Pilots return to the Gates Gymnasium on Saturday, Jan. 13, at 3 p.m. and host the #1 Grace Lancers, who are undefeated at 16-0 overall and 6-0 in Crossroads League play. The game will be featured on WHME 46 and the Regional Radio Sports Network on the Bethel Sports Network.