No.10 Bethel MBB outlasts No.13 Grace, 75-74
WINONA LAKE, Ind. — In the 145th meeting between the No. 10 Bethel Pilots (14-3, 7-0) and the No. 16 Grace Lancers (13-4, 5-2), Bethel sneaked away with the win thanks to two clutch free-throws in the final seconds to get the one-point win.
Luke McBride led the Pilot offense with 16 points on 5-10 shooting from the floor and 5-5 from the charity stripe.
Alonas Peciulis dropped 12 points on 3-9 shooting, a triple, and 5-5 from the line with Austin Cripe scoring 12 points with a perfect 5-5 from the field and 2-2 from downtown.
Trent Edwards, who was crucial in the final seconds of the game, had 10 points on the night with 4-8 shooting from the floor and his 2-2 from the free-throw line helped the Pilots end the night with the win.
Bethel shot 18-21 from the free-throw line, keeping pace with the Lancers at 23-25, and bested Grace off the boards 26-22.
The Pilots slowed down a 15-8 lead at 15:45 in the opening minutes, with Austin Cripe hitting a triple at 14:08 to get within eight points, 18-10.
The battle continued, being down by 10 at 8:40, with Beau Jacquay sparking a 12-2 run and shifting the momentum to a 32-30 Grace lead.
The Lancers answered with six points at the line and a jumper to get back up to an eight-point, 40-32 advantage at 2:34 to go in the half.
Cripe hit a deep ball with 56 seconds to go, 40-35, then Phillips drained a triple off Trent Edwards’ dart to get within two, 40-38, but GC splashed a three at the buzzer to go into halftime up 43-38.
In the second half, the Pilots hit a 12-2 run starting at 8:40, where the Lancers had a 10-point, 30-20 lead, but the momentum shifted to the Pilots, who got to 32-30 at 6:12 from a Cripe triple.
The game was tied by Alonas Peciulis at 16:16 from a layup down the lane 50-50, then the Pilots took their first lead of the game at 15:13 from a bucket by Beau Jacquay, 52-50.
Grace tied the game 68-68 at 4:31 off a layup, then took back the lead 70-68 at 3:32 from another layup caused by a Bethel turnover at 3:32.
With 11 seconds to go in regulation, GC hit a jumper to lead 74-73 before Trent Edwards drew a foul to go to the line with five seconds left and hit both free throws to give the Pilots their first win over the Lancers since Dec. 5, 2020, where Bethel won 101-95 in the Gates Gymnasium and their first win over the Lancers in the Manahan OCC since Dec. 1, 2018, 96-88.
Steve Drabyn is now 3-9 against Grace and 2-5 in the Manahan OCC, while the Pilots picked up all-time win number 74 to improve the series record to 74-71 and 30-49 on Grace’s home court.
The Pilots protected their Crossroads League win streak that now reads 7-0 in the Crossroads League standings as they prepare to host the Spring Arbor Cougars in the Gates Gymnasium on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m.