MISHAWAKA – For the first time since December 13, the No. 5 ranked Bethel College men’s basketball team will return to the friendly confines of the Wiekamp Athletic Center. The stakes are much higher as the Pilots (14-1) will host archival Grace College (11-4) on Saturday, Jan. 3, at 3 p.m. in Crossroads League play.

With the 124th meeting on the horizon, Bethel currently owns a slim 63-60 advantage in the all-time series. Last season the series was deadlocked at 60 wins a piece until the Pilots defeated the Lancers twice in the regular-season and again in the Crossroads League Tournament Championship Game.

Bethel is led by sophomore D-I transfer Clay Yeo who is coming off a 31-point performance in an 80-71 overtime win against Saint Thomas University (FL). The 6-5 guard currently leads the Crossroads League in scoring with 21.7 points per contest.

“This will be a huge test for us, “ stated Yeo. “Grace has a lot of different weapons from their guards to their post presence and any one of their players could get hot. We’ll need to be ready for everything they throw at us and really execute on both sides of the floor.”

The Lancers have a D-I transfer of their own in point guard Logan Irwin. The 6-0 junior from Whitko High School, who previously played at Stetson University (FL), is averaging 13.2 points and 5.1 assists per game for legendary coach Jim Kessler.

Kessler (38th season-710) and Bethel’s Mike Lightfoot (28th season-726) currently combine for 1,436 wins.

The women’s game will precede the men’s game, with Grace and Bethel scheduled to take the court at 1 p.m. Bethel is 7-8 on the season and are led by two Northern Lakes Conference alums, Aimee Swihart from Goshen (14.9 points per game) and Madison Schrock from Northridge (12.2 ppg). Grace is also 7-8 overall and has been paced by the 18.6 ppg from Allison Kauffman.

Admission is $5 with children 12 and under free.