MISHAWAKA, Ind. — In the first ever NAIA First Round hosted by the Bethel Pilots (23-8, 14-4) on Friday night, the Pilots overcame a slow start against the Peru State Bobcats (22-9, 17-7) 83-69.
Luke McBride dropped 15 points on 4-10 shooting from the floor and an impressive 4-9 shooting from beyond the arc.
Trent Edwards tallied 13 on 6-12 shooting, James Anderson had 12 points from 5-7 shooting and a triple, and Colin Comer rounded out the scoring with 11 points, 4-7 from the floor and 2-4 from deep.
Bethel dominated off the glass with 47 rebounds to Peru State’s 27; the Pilots took advantage of 15 second-chance points on seven offensive rebounds.
BU played from behind early, trailing by seven points at 13:58 (15-8) but battled to get within a point when Comer hit a jumper at 11:35 in the first-half, 15-14.
Morningside regained their two-possession lead at 9:45 (15-10), but Bethel turned the tide at 7:40 when Anderson scored in the paint, then McBride splashed a triple at 6:47 to take their first lead since 17:36, 24-22.
The Pilots sailed to a 12-point advantage with 45 seconds to go in the first half, then went into halftime up 36-26 from a Bobcat layup.
Bethel stormed to a 19-point, 56-37 lead after Comer’s layup at 14:11 and held a double-digit advantage until 3:25 when the Bobcats chipped the lead to 73-64.
Peru State couldn’t keep the momentum, which ended in an 83-69 Pilot victory to advance to the NAIA Second Round and face the Morningside Mustangs at 3:30 p.m. in the Gates Gymnasium with a trip to Kansas City on the line.