South Bend, Ind. --- The Bethel University Pilots travelled across town Friday night, coming away with a 98-78 win over NAIA #19 ranked Indiana University South Bend and improving their record to 3-0 on the season.
A quick 15-4 start put the Pilots in a comfortable lead until IUSB fought their way back, forcing a 28-28 tie with 6:40 to go in the first half. Bethel pushed the lead to 43-36 at the end of the half when Drew Lutz calmly sank three freethrows with 1.7 ticks left on the clock.
The Pilot lead was quickly cut to three at 43-40 early in the second half before a barrage of Bethel bombs from behind the arc pushed the lead to 62-40.
Brandon Hunt's three consecutive 3-pointers got things started as the Pilots lit the lamp in the second half and finished the night connecting on 18 of 29 trifectas (62%). Four Pilots made at least three 3-pointers, led by Chikara Tanaka and Tanguy Touze each with six and Hunt and Lutz each with three, respectively.
Bethel had 5 players finish in double figures, led by Tanaka, who finished with 20 points, to go along with 7 assists.
Brandon Hunt had his best game of the young season, scoring 17 points and snaring 5 rebounds. All of Tanguy 's 18 points came from behind the three-point line as he hit on 6 of 9 from deep. Nate Aerts continued his early season brilliance with 15 points and 7 rebounds and Drew Lutz fell just 2 rebounds away from a triple-double, finishing with 16 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- The Pilots shot 54.8% from the field
- The team shot 80% from the free throw line.
- The Pilots had 28 assists for the game, while the Titans were held to 9.
NEXT TIME OUT
- The Pilots will be traveling to Winona Lake, Ind. to compete in the Crossroads Cascade Challenge. They will play Bushnell on Nov. 11th at 5:00 p.m. and #22 ranked Oregon Tech on Nov. 12th at 3:00 p.m.
For the latest information on each of Bethel University's 31 intercollegiate athletic teams, visit BUPilots.com or follow the Pilots on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @BUPilots or on YouTube at /BethelSportsNetwork.