LEBANON, Tenn. — The shots were falling for the Pilots as they grew their winning streak to three games by shooting a season-high 67% from the floor. Drew Lutz, Luke McBride, and Clay Hilliard dropped three long-range buckets for the Pilots for the team’s second game in a row, dropping nine three-pointers as a team.
Bethel fought their way back from being down 9-4 in the opening minutes, with Trent Edwards hitting two layups. James Anderson and Preston Phillips sunk back-to-back layups to give the Pilots their first-half lead, 12-11, at 14:37.
Both sides took turns with the lead until 6:23 when Lutz hit a jumper, 35-32, and racked up a 13-point lead with a shot from downtown with 12 seconds left in the half.
Lutz lit up the net in the first half with 22 points, shooting 9-11 from the field and 3-5 from three-point range.
The lead peaked at 25 points in the second half at 3:45 with Lutz’s layup, and the Pilots won 101-82.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Bethel won the battle on the boards 40-29 and capitalized on 13 second-chance points.
The Pilots are undefeated when making nine or more three-pointers and grabbing above 10 offensive rebounds.
Bethel holds a record of 3-1 in December.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Pilots host the IU East Redwolves for the last game before the start of the new year on Dec. 30 at 3 p.m. in the Gates Gymnasium. Bethel trails the overall series 2-4 with their last matchup, resulting in a loss of 86-70 on Dec. 30, 2022, in Richmond, Ind. In the Gates Gymnasium, the Pilots are 1-1 against the Redwolves.