Men's Basketball

Pilots battle hard, drop fourth straight

 -  -  49


Despite claiming a two point advantage at halftime, the Pilots dropped their fourth straight at home Tuesday night as they battled Grace College. The 17th ranked Lancers gathered 51 points in the second half and were too much to handle inside the paint as they defeated Bethel by a score of 87-82. Despite not being able to stop the relentless Lancer offense down the stretch, the Pilots executed very well with the ball. Four of five starters had double digit scoring, while the bench performed at a high level as well. Ryan Benner was the high scorer for the Pilots as he put up 20 points, Caleb Laideg followed with 16, Landon Booker added 12, and Joe Welch collected 11. In addition to his 16 points, Laideg contributed an impressive 12 assists in generating more offensive points. Kyle Ritz also had four points on the night and led all players with nine rebounds. Off the bench, Darrell Hopkins had nine points and three rebounds. Steve Ward also gave a significant lift off the bench with six points. This loss drops the Pilots to 11-13 overall and 3-7 in the conference. Nevertheless, they will have to recover quickly as they travel to Indiana Wesleyan Saturday. Currently the Wildcats are a perfect 10-0 in the conference and ranked 5th in the nation.
bookmark icon