HUNTINGTON, Ind. — The (RV) Bethel Pilots (8-0, 2-0) had a huge upset over the #13 Huntington Foresters (8-1, 1-1) to end the Forester winning streak in the battle of undefeated on Saturday with four Pilots shooting double digits and two surpassing 20 points.
Alonas Peciulis was the leading scorer with a career-high 29 points on 11-for-15 shooting from the floor and a perfect 7-for-7 at the charity stripe, with nine rebounds for the night. Luke McBride was the other Pilot to shoot over 20 points with 24, having a great night with 7-for-15 shooting and 5-for-11 from beyond the arc and four boards.
Jameir Jefferson went for 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the floor and nine defensive boards, and Beau Jacquay hit a career-high 12 points on 6-for-8 from the floor.
The game started neck-and-neck in the early going before Jacquay tossed a low post jumper in to take a one-point 11-10 lead, then hit another at 15:18 to go up 13-10. Trent Edwards splashed a mid-range jumper at 14:36 for three straight possessions with a basket and turned the game to a two-possession lead 15-10.
The run continued with McBride hitting two at the line at 13:43, followed by Peciulis with a pair 19-10. At 10:14, Trent Edwards hit a jumper to grow the gap to 27-13 before Peciulis grew the advantage to 16 off a dunk, which would be the largest lead of the half, and went into halftime up 48-27.
Huntington chipped the Pilot lead down to five points at the line, making both at 9:02 left in regulation, then hit a jumper at 8:42 off a steal to get within three, 68-65. Bethel hit an 11-0 run that ended with a Peciulis three-point-play at 6:25 and ballooned back to a 12-point 79-67 advantage.
The game was down to a five-point difference with 13 seconds left in the game, and McBride got to the line and split a pair to secure the 96-90 upset victory to remain undefeated on the season and in Crossroads League play.
Bethel faces another road challenge with the #5 Georgetown Tigers at the Davis-Reid Alumni Gym in Georgetown, Ky., on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 5:30 p.m.