Box Score Lakeland, Fla. --- The Bethel Pilots Men's Basketball team (10-3) snuck past the Southeastern Fire (6-7) after coming back from a 13-point second half deficit to win 80-77 on Friday evening on the campus of Southeastern University.

Senior Drew Lutz kept the Pilots close in the first half with 12-points. Lutz would knock down four deep balls in the opening stanza, while sophomore Tanguy Touze added seven points.

But what was a neck and neck game turned into a 10-point lead for the host team as they scored on 5 straight possessions late in the half to take a 41-31 lead over the Pilots into the locker room at the break.

The Fire lead swelled to 13 early in the second half and Bethel still trailed by 10 points at the 12:32 mark before a quick 12-0 spurt would give the Pilots their first lead (55-53) since the 4:30 mark of the first half. 

The game would be a back-and-forth affair the rest of the way but the difference on this night was from the charity stripe, where the Pilots calmly canned 13 of 14 (93%), while Southeastern missed 2 crucial freebies with 8 seconds left that would have given the Fire the lead.  

The brilliance of Lutz was once a gain a huge factor in the game, as the senior southpaw finished with a game-high 31 points, including 7 three-pointers, to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

Tanguy Touze added 12 points off the bench, while Brandon Hunt chipped in with 10.

The win ties the series at 1-1 and avenges a 74-73 loss to the Fire dating back to Dec. 20, 2016, where the Pilots and Fire first met.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
· Lutz was five points away from tying his career high of 36 points and two rebounds away from a double-double.
· The Fire outscored the Pilots 42-20 in the paint.
· Bethel outrebounded Southeastern 34-32, but managed just 5 second chance points, compared to 16 for the Fire

NEXT TIME OUT
The Pilots continue their Florida trip Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. to take on the NAIA 10th ranked Florida College at The Furnace on the campus of Southeastern University.

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 YouTube at /BethelSportsNetwork.