Pilots sizzle the nets in 112-82 win over Spring Arbor
Mishawaka, Ind. — While the weather outside was frightful, the offensive performance of the Bethel Pilots men’s basketball team was so delightful, scorching the nets inside the Wiekamp Center in a 112-82 win over Spring Arbor.
The Pilots and the Cougars were trading buckets for the first 10 minutes of the game until senior Drew Lutz scored a layup at 10:09 in the first half, coupled with a triple by sophomore Tanguy Touze to start a 10-2 run for the Pilots giving them a 10-point lead at 8:45, 35-25.
Lutz would sink one last jumper at 1:09 left in the first half to grow is first half total points to 22 and the Pilots would go into halftime with a score of 55-48. Junior Nathan Aerts also had a good first half with 13 points, going 5 for 9 from the field.
The Pilots pulled away in the second half with Touze building the lead to 16 after a layup at 10:03. Aerts kept growing the lead with a three-point play with 6:32 left in regulation to go up 92-72 and Touze broke the 100-point mark with a three-pointer at 4:39. For the game, the Pilots connected on 62% from the floor overall and 55% from beyond the arc (15/29) while committing only two total turnovers as a team.
Drew Lutz nearly had a double-double after scoring 32 points on 13 for 20 (65%) from the floor and nine rebounds. Nathan Aerts ended the night with 22 points, shooting 69% from the floor and a perfect 2 for 2 from beyond the arc.
Chikara Tanaka amassed 18 points and two assists, shooting 53% from the floor and 40% from deep and Tanguy Touze added 16 points with 3 assists and four rebounds.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
• The Pilots’ offense ran smoothly on all cylinders with 20 total assists, led by Drew Lutz commanding the offense with nine assists and zero turnovers.
• Bethel took advantage of turnovers scoring 17 points off Spring Arbor miscues.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Pilots start a tough three-game stretch of ranked opponents, starting with the RV Huntington Forresters on the road at Platt Arena in Huntington, Ind. at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28.