Winona Lake, Ind. — The Bethel Pilots (19-13) defeated the Geneva College Golden Tornadoes 74-63 at the Manahan OCC to book a ticket to the NCCAA National Championship game Saturday, Mar. 18, against Clinton College (SC).
The Pilots led early in the opening minutes, with Alonas Peciulis landing two layups in back-to-back possessions to give the Pilots the early advantage of 8-3 at 16:49 in the first half. The Golden Tornadoes answered quickly by draining a three-pointer and a layup to tie the game 8-8 at 15:15.
Jordan Okonji started the rally at 10:26 by draining a deep three and drew the foul to make it 17-14; the Pilots rallied to get a 13-point lead after a jumper at 7:09.
The Golden Tornadoes sank a triple at 2:02 to get within eight points, but Brandon Hunt answered with a layup to bring the Pilots back to a 10-point lead, 36-26.
Trent Edwards drained the final basket with a two-point jumper with two seconds left in the half to go into half-time 39-28.
In the second half, the Pilots maintained their lead as Life Granville drained a three at 12:18 to make it 57-43.
Brandon Hunt brought the Pilots back above a 10-point lead at 3:46 with a layup to grow to 69-58, and the Pilots gave the finishing blow at 46 seconds to go in regulation with two free-throws by Miki Stokanov.
Alonas Peciulis had a double-double with 15 points and a season-high 14 rebounds, seven were defensive, and seven were offensive. Brandon Hunt scored 17 points on six rebounds and shot 46% from the floor.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- The Pilots took advantage of second-chance points with 15 versus Geneva’s two.
- Bethel dominated the boards 50-34 and especially on the offensive glass 19-7.
THE NCCAA NATIONAL TOURNAMENT CONTINUES
The Pilots will take on Clinton College (SC) at the Manahan OCC on the campus of Grace College on Saturday, Mar. 18, at 5 p.m. The Pilots will play for their fifth NCCAA Championship, which the Pilots last won in 2007, where Bethel beat Grace College (Ind.) 90-81 on Mar. 17, 2007.