FORT WAYNE, Ind. —The Bethel Pilots (9-1, 3-1) secured an 82-66 win over the University of Saint Francis Cougars (3-8, 0-4) on Saturday at the Hutzell Athletic Center.
Austin Cripe totaled an impressive 24 points for his second highest scoring game of the season, shooting 56% from the field and 66% from three.
Colin Comer (19), Luke McBride (11), Alonas Peciulis (10), and Beau Jacquay (10) each showcased double digits, with Comer hitting a new season high for points scored in a single game.
The Pilots doubled the number of threes scored by the Cougars in the first half (three), sinking six shots from beyond the arc.
At 8:38, Andrew Hedrick splashed a three, assisted by Alonas Peciulis, for a ten-point lead (28-18).
In the second half, Freshman Mason Bales added to the three-point frenzy at 10:43, assisted by Beau Jacquay. Bales now has six three’s on the season while Jacquay holds 14 assists.
Head Coach Steve Drabyn shared, “This was another challenging Crossroads League game for our team. We did not have our best effort defensively in the first half, but were really good in the second half. I’ll give our guys a ton of credit for holding a team to 29 points in a half. Andrew Hedrick, Jameir Jefferson, and Colin Comer played well for us.”
The Pilots stand at a three-way tie for second place in the Crossroads League with Mount Vernon Nazarene and Taylor University.
Bethel will pause conference play and instead face the Indiana University Northwest Red Hawks (5-3, 3-2) on Saturday, Dec. 13. Tip-off is set for 3 PM in the Gates Gymnasium.