POINT LOOKOUT, MISSOURI – The Bethel College Pilots faced the Crimson Wave of Calumet of Saint Joseph and came away with a 104-78 victory in the first round of the NAIA Division II National Tournament late Thursday night.

In a game that saw a one hour delay due to severe weather, the Pilots would not be stopped, as BC moved to 31-10 all-time in the NAIA DII Men’s National Tournament.

The No. 3 ranked and top-seeded Pilots and Crimson Wave started off trading baskets, with senior Ryan Wassink  knocking down a three, and giving Bethel a 9-3 lead. At the 11:45 mark, Bethel led 17-16 after two made free throws from senior Caleb Oetjen. In the next minutes of the game the Pilots and Wave would fight back and forth, but during the last four minutes of the first-half the Pilots finished on a 8-3 run to take a 44-36 advantage heading into the locker room.

During the first half the Pilots shot 50 percent from the field, connecting on 12-of-24 attempts. Paul Forman led all scorers with nine points, while Jordyn Coon and Gage Ott each added seven points apiece. The Pilots held CCSJ to shooting just 31 percent from the field during the first stanza and only 27 percent from behind the arc, going 6-of-22.

The Pilots came out of the locker room focused and locked in and quickly jumped out on a 15-7 run to take a 59-43 led with 16:04 left to play in the game. The Crimson Wave continued to fight, but foul trouble would spoil their upset bid, as two Wave players fouled out, and they were assessed two technical fouls during the course of the contest. In the closing minutes of the game the Pilots extended their lead to 26, (104-78) and walked away with a clear victory.

The Pilots shot 59.6 percent from the field for the night, connecting on 34-of-57 attempts while going 8-of-16 from behind the arc.  Junior forward Gage Ott led the way for the Pilots with 19 points on the night, going 6-of-9 from the field, including several three point plays in the paint. Forman, Clay Yeo, and Oetjen each added 15 point a piece on the night while Jordyn Coon added 14.

The Pilots advance to the round of sixteen where they will face the Mountaineers from Eastern Oregon on Friday. The Mountaineers are members of the Cascade Conference and come into the match-up with a record of 24-8. Tip-Off is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. (ET) at Keeter Gymnasium at the College of the Ozarks.