Pilots snap streak, capture senior day triumph

Despite heading into Saturday’s game against Marian College with an eight game losing streak, the Pilot basketball team was able to pull out a momentous victory. Although senior Joe Welch is out for the season with a shoulder injury, senior Caleb Laidig was able to lead the team with a double-double and capture an emotional senior day win by a score of 69-63. Just as they have all season, Bethel showed their home crowd and the visiting Knights that they were not short on heart. Despite having seven players out, the team played as a unit and with large amounts of courage. In addition, to starting Laideg, the Pilots also started four freshmen. These five players all played over 35 minutes of the game and never led up when the Knights threatened to take control late in the second half. Laidig’s double-double consisted of 23 points and 14 rebounds. He also chipped in six assists as he was a crucial member in executing the offense. Taylor Kolbus also had a great day with 18 points and nine rebounds. Patrick Oetting also stepped up for the Pilots as he was able to capture a double-double as well with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Overall, this was a very essential win for the Pilots as they now move into a tie with Taylor for seventh place and stay a half-game ahead of Goshen. The last game of the season for Bethel will be next Saturday when the Pilots travel to Taylor and try to improve their conference tournament seeding. Tip-off for the game is set for 3:00 p.m.