MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.—Â Â The Bethel Pilots (10-2, 4-0) fell to the Florida Memorial Lions (8-4, 1-2) 101-81 in the first game of the Florida trip before the Christmas break of two games while in the Sunshine State.
James Anderson played in his first game this season and dropped 10 points on 5-6 shooting from the floor with two rebounds and three assists, while Colin Comer hit a career-high 16 points with 4-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc (career-high) and 6-15 from the floor.
Luke McBride scored 15 points on 5-13 shooting and 4-9 from downtown, his 11th game in which he has scored 10+ points.
The early minutes saw three ties, battling the Lion’s tough post defense and the low hook shot from the Lion’s Latavious Mitchell, who had 17 points in the first half.
At 15:13 in the first half, James Anderson hit a turnaround jumper in the low post, followed by Jameir Jefferson going to the charity stripe and hitting two free throws to take a five-point, 13-9 lead.
Preston Phillips answered an FMU layup at 13:24 with his own layup to retain a four-point advantage, but the Lions roared in the next two possessions with a layup at 13:13 and a triple at 12:32 to take back the lead 16-15.
Ike Umeh hit a layup on the next possession to answer back 17-16. After a couple of turnovers and empty possessions, the Lions hit a jumper to spark an 8-0 run that gave them a little breathing room at 24-17.
McBride splashed a triple at 5:22 in the first half, followed by a scoop and score layup at 5:06 to get BU within one point, 28-27.
After Phillips tied the game with a three at 4:16, the Lions hit a major 10-0 run late in the half to grow to a 40-30 advantage, but with Anderson laying up off the glass and Jefferson hitting two at the line, Bethel would go into halftime down 42-34.
The Lions jumped to a 20-point, 58-38 lead at 14:29 in the second half and kept the Pilots from hitting any major runs to secure a 101-81 win over the Pilots.
Bethel was outrebounded 22-14 in the second half and 41-32 throughout the game. FMU had double the fast break points in a fast-paced Lion offense and led off the defensive glass 28-18; however, the Pilots had a narrow advantage of 14-13 in offensive boards. The Lions hit 75% (9-12) of their three-point shots in the second half to Bethel’s 7-17 (41%).
The Pilots face the #18 Ave Maria Gyrenes in Ave Maria, Fla., after the Huntington Foresters defeated the Gyrenes 97-69 at Ave Maria tonight. Bethel defeated the Foresters in Huntington, Ind. on Nov. 23 96-90 in a big Top 25 matchup and will be faced with another marquee game on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. when the Pilots face the Gyrenes for the first time.