MISHAWAKA, Ind. — The undefeated Crossroads League season is still alive for No. 10 Men’s Basketball after a defensive showdown with Pat Knight’s Marian Knights on Wednesday night in a loud Gates Gymnasium for the 70-57 win.
Austin Cripe dropped a career-high 20 points on 5-9 shooting from beyond the arc and 7-11 from the floor.
Luke McBride scored 14 points on 5-14 shooting, 4-10 from three-point range, and six rebounds. Colin Comer scored 12 points, and Alonas Peciuls was one point behind at 11.
James Anderson grabbed 10 off the boards out of the Pilots’ 38 and outdid the Knights, who had 23 rebounds.
Bethel held the Knights to 41% shooting and only 2-11 from three, both were made in the first half, while the Pilots went 9-23 from deep and 27-52 (51%) from the field.
The game started well, with the Knights keeping within a two-possession game until Beau Jacquay hit a layup to lead by seven, 30-23, at 2:34 left in the first half.
James Anderson hit a layup at 1:44, followed by Cripe’s jumper at 1:05 to go into halftime up 34-23.
The Pilots peaked at 3:40 to go in regulation on Preston Phillips’ layup for a 19-point 66-47 lead and left the Gates Gymnasium with the 70-57 win to improve to 6-0 in Crossroads League play and 13-3 on the season.
The last time Bethel had a 6-0 start in the Crossroads League was in the 2012-13 season, when the winning streak ended at 7-0, and Indiana Wesleyan defeated the Pilots at home 81-65. Before then, it was in the 1997-98 season, when Bethel went a perfect 14-0, won the Crossroads League Regular Season and Tournament titles and went on to win the program’s first NAIA National Title.
The Pilots prepare for the No. 16 Grace Lancers on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 3 p.m. in the Manahan OCC. The Lancers are one game behind Bethel at 5-1, tied with Spring Arbor for second in the Crossroads League standings, and both are in the hunt for the Crossroads League Regular Season title.