Mishawaka, Ind. – The Bethel College Pilots men’s basketball defeated East West on the first night of the Bethel Classic behind a career high from Pilot junior Paul Forman.
GAME VITALS
- Score: Bethel def. East-West 99-73
- Records: Bethel (4-0) | East-West (1-4)
- NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll: Bethel – No. 22 | East-West – n/a
- Location: Wiekamp Athletic Center Center | Bethel College | Mishawaka, Ind.
STAT TRACKER
- Paul Forman: 33 pts, 11 reb, 15-17 ft
- Gage Ott: 15 pts, 8-8 ft, 3-3 fg
- Trey’von Covington: 16 pts, 5 ast, 2 stl
- Tanner Shepherd: 13 pts, 5-8 fg, 8 reb
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Paul Forman hit his new career-high with 21 points before halftime, finishing with 33 points and the second-most free throws made in a single game in program history by a junior with 15.
- Trailing by 1, the Pilots used a 28-7 run over the final 7:17 of the first half to take a 20-point lead into intermission.
- The Pilots built their first half margin with their season leading scorer Gage Ott seeing only 5 minutes of playing time. Ott finished with 14 minutes in the game.
- The Pilots went 33-for-46 from the free throw line, their highest marks this season in those categories.
- Ryan Lutz scored the 1,000th point in his collegiate career with his first field of the night. Lutz scored 979 points in two seasons at Holy Cross and now has 26 points on the season for the Pilots and sits at 1,005 for his 64-game career thus far.
- The Pilots have now won 23 consecutive non-conference games at home, dating back to Oct. 30, 2012—the program’s longest streak ever in Gates Gymnasium and the longest streak at home since winning 48 straight from Dec. 15, 1992 to Nov. 3, 2000.
- Head Coach Ryne Lightfoot became the first men’s basketball head coach to begin his career 4-0. Homer Drew previously held the record with three straight wins to open his career in 1976-77.
COACH LIGHTFOOT SAYS
- “I think it was a good win for us in terms of East-West is a capable group, beating No. 12 Robert Morris on the road. They have length, they have athleticism, they caused us to do some different things that we’re not used to doing. We had great bench minutes from our guys as well. Tanner is continuing to give us good minutes and we’re working Grant back into shape. Luke gave good minutes off the bench. East-West does a great job, they have different personnel and they challenged some things that we’re not very good at. So it was good for us to work on those things in the next two weeks as we get ready for conference.”
NEXT TIME OUT
- The Pilots continue as hosts to the Bethel Classic with a Saturday afternoon meeting with Lincoln Christian (Ill.) at 3pm. Marian (Ind.) will take on East-West at 1pm prior to the Pilots’ game.
- Marian defeated Lincoln Christian 101-62 in the opening game of the Bethel Classic.
- The Bethel men’s soccer team is hosting a food drive, in partnership with LifeWorks Church, prior to their Saturday NCCAA North Central Regional Championship match against Judson and any fan who donates a non-perishable food item to Morey Field prior to the start of their match at 1pm will receive a free ticket for admission to both the soccer match and men’s basketball games. All donations benefit the Food Bank of Northern Indiana.