MISHAWAKA, Ind.—The Bethel Pilots (10-1) defeated the Indiana University Northwest Redhawks (5-5) 110-67 on Saturday afternoon in the Gates Gymnasium.
The win marks the Pilots’ seventh straight win over the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) opponent. Head Coach Steve Drabyn now holds a 28-1 record in overall CCAC play.
Luke McBride led Bethel with 18 points, shooting 57 percent from beyond the arc (4-7) and 53 percent from the field (7-13).
Colin Comer and Alonas Peciulis totaled 16 points and seven boards each, with Peciulis leading the team in assists (five).
Beau Jacquay led the team in rebounds with ten (2-8), racking up 12 points. Austin Cripe and Mason Bales each contributed 11 points.
The Pilots showcased a balanced offense, nearly doubling the IU Northwest’s bench point total (37 to 19).
Bethel claimed a 5-0 lead in the first, jump started with a three downed by last week’s Crossroads League Offensive Player of the Week, Austin Cripe (18:22).
A series of three’s from Luke McBride (14:18, 13:29, 12:24) pushed the Pilots ahead 19-7.
Colin Comer posted two consecutive layups (0:56, 0:05) to conclude the first half up 59-36.
In the second half, Alex Ellenson recorded the only dunk of the game (8:35) before the freshman frenzy ensued.
With three minutes left of the clock, Wes Ward, Josiah Ball, Mason Bales, Sam Wellman, and Kosta Grubor took the floor with zero returning players.
Grubor totaled four rebounds (1-3), while Ward and Ball each picked up a pair at the charity stripe.
Sam Wellman splashed his first three as a Pilot (0:50), making the most of his minutes in his first game in Bethel Blue.
Head Coach Steve Drabyn shared, “This was a good team win for us. We got contributions from a lot of different people…We had nine different players get an offensive rebound, which shows great effort. Luke McBride got us off to a great start going for 18 points in the first half…I was proud of our effort from start to finish and hopefully we can continue to build consistency.”
The Pilots will next compete against the Governors State University Jaguars (7-3) on Thursday, Dec. 18. Tip-off is set for 7 PM in the GSU ARC.