Ott leads NO.13 Bethel past Grace

Winona Lake, Ind. – The Bethel College Pilots men’s basketball team topped the Grace Lancers for the fifth straight time on the back of their senior leader Gage Ott, who provided the game-winning basket with under ten seconds remaining.

GAME VITALS

• Score: Bethel def. Grace 77-75
• Records:  Bethel (19-7, 8-6) | Grace (10-16, 3-11)
• NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll: Bethel – No. 13 | Grace – not rated
• Location: Manahan OCC | Grace College | Winona Lake, Ind.

STAT TRACKER

• Gage Ott: 28 pts, 2 reb, 11-15 fg
• Trey’von Covington: 15 pts, 2 stl, 3-5 3fg
• Paul Forman: 11 pts, 4 reb, 4-7 fg
• Ryan Lutz: 2 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• The Pilots improved to 8-3 against the Lancers inside the Manahan OCC since it debuted in 2007-08.
• The Pilots opened up their largest lead of the game at 64-53 with 6:59 remaining. The Lancers responded with an 12-1 run over the next 2:36 to knot the game at 65 with 4:23 to go.
• Ott scored six of his game-high 28 in the final 3:26, including the go-ahead basket at the rim with 6.9 seconds remaining.
• The Pilots outscored the Lancers 44-34 in the paint as Pilot big men Ott, Paul Forman, and Kyle Thompson combined for 16-26 (.615) from the field.

COACH LIGHTFOOT SAYS

• “There is something special about the Bethel-Grace game. We knew we were in for a battle tonight. We did a great job in the second half using our size and controlling the glass. It’s good to finish off the week with a tough road win against a team that’s playing very well right now.”

NEXT TIME OUT

• The Pilots return home on Tuesday at 7pm to take on Spring Arbor to begin a pivotal stretch in Crossroads League play to finish the regular season. The Pilots stand one game ahead of the Cougars, Mt. Vernon Nazarene, and Marian for third place in the Crossroads League with three of their four remaining games against those teams.

The Pilots compete in 18 intercollegiate sports for men and women. The Bethel College Athletic Department earned the NAIA Champion of Character Five-Star Gold Institution and produced 17 NAIA Scholar-Teams last season. While accumulating 3 NAIA National Championships and 32 NCCAA National Championships by 10 different athletic teams, Bethel has also produced 143 NAIA All-American honors and 309 NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors over the past decade.