Bethel Basketball: Pilots Soar To Ninth Straight Win
HUNTINGTON – The Bethel College men’s basketball team picked up its ninth straight win by downing host Huntington 102-94 in a key Crossroads League game Tuesday night.
Bethel senior standout Caleb Oetjen led the way for the Pilots with 17 points surpassing the 1,000-point mark in his career. The McCordsville, Ind. native shot 54.5 percent from the field connecting on 6-of-11 attempts while dishing out five assists and pulling down three rebounds.
The win against the Foresters gives Bethel their tenth league win of the season against just one loss. The Pilots now sit at 20-3 overall.
Huntington got things going early inside converting on their first three attempts in the post followed by a good three-pointer from guard Mike Bush to take an early 9-4 lead. With 13:31 left to play in the first half the Forester extended their lead to eight (the largest lead of the night) thanks to Bush who converted on a runner in the lane. The Pilots and the Foresters continued to exchange baskets and at the end of the half Bethel trailed by just two (50-48).
The Pilots headed into halftime shooting a solid 58.8 percent from the field, and 38.5 percent from behind the arc. Senior Nick Kindig led the way for the Pilots with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Sophomore Paul Forman added seven points, and junior Kyle Thompson added six points, going a perfect 3-of-3 from the field.
The Pilots struggled defensively in the first half allowing the Foresters to shoot 54.5 percent from the field, and a solid 42.9 percent from behind the three-point stripe. The Pilots had no answer for guard Mike Bush during the first half who led all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting with three assists. The Pilots also struggled rebounding the ball allowing the Foresters to grab six offensive rebounds, converting on three of the possessions.
The Pilots came out of the locker room with a different mindset and started the second half on a quick 9-2 run to take a five-point lead (57-52) with 17:49 left to play. In the next minutes of the game, the Foresters responded by going on a 15-3 run to take a 67-60 lead, but a converted three-point play opportunity by Forman cut the Foresters lead to just four (67-63). With 4:31 left to play in the game the Pilots once again took the lead, this time never looking back. With 1:28 left to play the Pilots were able to extend their lead to six on a great look from Clay Yeo to Gage Ott who was able to flush it down for the dunk giving the Pilots just a little breathing room. With 24 seconds left to play, the Pilots still owned a six-point lead but a deep three from Bush cut the lead to just three. The Foresters quickly fouled Yeo who converted on both free-throw attempts giving the Pilots a five-point lead with 19 seconds left to play. Huntington came down with the ball looking for one last attempt but a blocked three-point attempt by Oetjen sealed the win.
The Pilots finished the night shooting 60 percent from the field while shooting 41.2 percent from the three-point line. Kindig helped the Pilots with 16 points going 6-of-11 from the field, while Forman added 15 on the night with six rebounds. Both Ott and Yeo finished the night with 13 apiece.
The Foresters finished the night shooting 49.2 percent from the field while shooting 44 percent from behind the arc. Bush, a South Bend native, recorded a career-high 38 points in the night going 14-of-21 from the field and 6-of-8 from behind the arc. Bush also ended up with nine assists and two rebounds.
The Pilots host No. 6 Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday at 3 p.m. in another league contest.