Pilots upset Indiana Wesleyan on the road 83-80

The men’s basketball team picked up a monumental road victory on Saturday, Jan. 15, defeating the No. 14 ranked Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats by a score of 83-80. Despite the Pilots playing such an inexperienced lineup this year, they continued their trend of picking up nail biting victories. Both teams felt confidence early from all over the court and the game quickly turned into a shootout. The Pilots stretched their lead to eight points at one point in the first half; however, the skilled Wildcat team would create a late run that cut the lead to 44-41 at half time. Indiana Wesleyan came out in the second half as if they had something to prove. They began making it very difficult on the vigorous Pilot defense and eventually claimed a comfortable 75-66 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the game. Nevertheless, the Pilots would not go away and underclassmen Matt Schauss, Cody Cochran, and Patrick Oetting all scored in the next three possessions to quickly tie the game and kill the Wildcat momentum. With less than a minute remaining, Indiana Wesleyan held an 80-79 lead and attained possession of the ball. From there, the Pilots would not be forced to foul as Landon Booker did what he does best by coming up with a key inbound steal that led to a Matt Schauss transition three, which gave Bethel an 82-80 lead. Schauss then stole the ball with less than 10 seconds remaining in the game and hit one of two free throws. Indiana Wesleyan had a solid look at a game-tying three pointer but did not connect and the Pilots escaped with a clutch three point triumph. Landon Booker seemed to have been feeling healthy from his list of injuries as he led all scorers with 24 points and generated seven assists out of the Pilots defense. Zach Miller and Schauss each chipped in 16 as well. Bethel is now 13-7 overall and back to an even 4-4 in the MCC. They will next travel to Huntington on Tuesday, Nov. 17 to take on the Foresters.