Bethel MBB slams Marian, 89-66
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — With a winter storm on the way and a race for the Crossroads League Regular Season title on the line, the No. 10 Bethel Pilots (20-5, 13-2) defeated the Marian Knights (11-14, 5-10) to improve the Pilots record on the road to 8-4 and 27-29 all-time on Marian’s court.
Trent Edwards dropped double-digits for the third consecutive game with 19 points, shooting 9-15 from the floor, 1-1 from beyond the arc, and 1-2 from the charity stripe. Edwards also was one of six Pilots with six rebounds.
Luke McBride scored 19 points to tie Edwards for the team-high with 6-12 shooting from the field, 3-6 from deep, and 4-4 from the free throw line.
Austin Cripe was hot from three, hitting 4-for-8 from distance and 4-10 from the field, and James Anderson went 4-4 from the floor, made a three in the second half, and split a pair from the charity stripe.
Preston Phillips was the leading rebounder with seven, and Edwards, McBride, Comer, and Jacquay all had six rebounds, with a team total of 48.
Bethel held the lead in the early minutes, with Edwards scoring three of six buckets by the Pilots to get to an 11-7 advantage.
Luke McBride protected a six-point lead at 13:32 with a layup off the glass and another at 12:53 to answer an MU jumper, 18-12 BU.
Marian went to the line at 10:39 and drained both free throws to cut the game to 20-18, but the Pilots answered with a Preston Phillips bucket at 10:16 and a jumper in the paint by Trent Edwards at 9:38, 24-18.
Austin Cripe sparked a big 18-7 run for the Pilots from a triple at 6:41 and ended with a Beau Jacquay dunk at 2:22 to grow the lead to a 15-point, 42-27 game.
The Pilots would go into halftime with one last triple from Edwards to lead 45-31 and grew his first-half point total to 13 from 6-9 shooting from the floor and 1-1 from three-point range.
Anderson drained a three off a shovel pass on the right wing at 16:47, then scored in the paint to bolster a 21-point, 54-33 advantage over the Knights early in the second half.
Marian chipped the lead down to 15 from a three-point play at 13:17 and a triple at 12:30 to bring the game to 60-45, but Bethel answered with McBride sinking two from the free throw line after a technical foul on the Knights, followed by a McBride triple all at 11:30, 65-45.
Bethel would maintain a 20+ point advantage through the rest of the game and leave the Physical Education Center with an 89-66 victory.
The race for the Crossroads League Regular Season title continues with a marquee match-up with the No. 6 Grace Lancers in the Gates Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m.