Pilots Soar Past Taylor
MISHAWAKA – The Bethel College men’s basketball team rode a big second-half performance to a win over Taylor Thursday night in quarterfinal play of the Crossroads League Tournament.
The host Pilots poured in 67 points in the final half to post a 107-97 win in the Wiekamp Center on the Bethel College campus.
Bethel, the No. 3 seed in the tourney, advances to play at No. 2 seed Indiana Wesleyan in a semifinal game at 3 p.m. Saturday. IWU topped Huntington 97-79 Thursday night to improve to 27-4 on the season.
The Pilots trailed early Thursday by a 26-16 count after a 24-10 run by Taylor. The hosts responded with a 21-4 run of their own to take a 43-38 halftime lead.
Senior Travis Smith poured in a career-high 27 points to lead the winners.
Junior Jordyn Coon, a Warsaw product, had a big game off the bench for the Pilots. Coon scored 20 points, with 18 of those coming in the second half. He hit 11-14 free throws and also grabbed seven rebounds in 25 very productive minutes.
Luke Fisher scored 14 points for Bethel. Junior guard Clay Yeo had eight points and seven rebounds.
Bethel, which is now 23-8, hit 44-49 free throws in the win. Taylor went 22-26 from the line.
Shakir Dunning led Taylor, which drops to 14-17, with 21 points. Kyle Stidom had 19 points.