Lakeland, Fla. --- It was another tough test for the Bethel Pilots Saturday night (11-3) as they faced off with the NAIA 10th ranked Florida College Falcons (12-3) and came away with the upset win 88-81.
Bethel's offense was spreading the Christmas cheer as four pilots scored in double-digits.
Drew Lutz once again led the way with 25 points, while
Brandon Hunt added 16,
Tanguy Touze (15) and Tanaka Chikara (13) respectively. Lutz also added 9 assists and 7 rebounds to round out another dominating performance.
Touze was once again a huge spark off the bench, knocking down 4 of 6 shots from behind the arc (66%). Not to be outdone, Hunt matched Touze's proficiency, canning 4 of 6 on his own, while Lutz converted on 5 of 12 from deep. For the game, the Pilots made 17 of 35 three-pointers (48.6%).
Lutz gave the Pilots their largest first-half lead of 14 points on a three-pointer with 57 seconds left in the half and would enter halftime up by 10 points, 52-42.
The Pilots' lead would slowly dissipate after a slow offensive start to the second half and the Falcons grabbed the lead at the 8:43 mark, 67-65.
Chikara Tanaka and
Nathan Aerts would drain a three-pointer to get into a back-and-forth affair until 6:43 where the Pilots would score unanswered in six straight possessions with Lutz, Aerts and
Brandon Hunt heating up to give Bethel a comfortable margin late in the game.
With the win, the Pilots are now 3-3 against ranked opponents this season and 1-2 against top 10 teams.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- · Lutz has scored 20+ points in three-straight games with his 25 points Saturday night.
- · Lutz, Hunt, Tanaka and Touze scored double-digits to combine for 69 of the Pilots 88 points.
- · Bethel dominated the boards 45-32 and were sharp from the Free Throw line again, hitting on 15 of 19 (78.9%)
NEXT TIME OUT
The Pilots continue their road trip on Dec. 30 to Richmond, Ind. to take on the IU-East Redwolves at 3:00 p.m. at Lingle Court. You can listen live at rrsn.com or go to bupilots.com for all the ways to follow the Pilots.
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.
