Box Score INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- In the Crossroads League Quarterfinal, the Bethel Men's Basketball team (19-10, 10-8) took on the NAIA 22nd ranked Marian Knights (23-6, 12-6) but fell 91-82 on the road to the Knights.
Bethel started behind as the Knights grew a slow lead into the first 10 minutes of the first half as the Pilots found themselves down by 14 (28-14) at the 10:18 mark.
The remainder of the half was controlled by Marian as they continued to knock down shots while Bethel's shots didn't fall with the halftime score being 59-36.
The start of the second half is when the Pilots found some traction
Preston Phillips,
Nathan Aerts, and
Drew Lutz all made buckets early to bring the Marian lead down to 15.
Drew Lutz made all three of his free throws from a foul off Gus Etchison to bring the game to 10 points at the 11:09 mark.
Jefferson and Preston each made another layup with nine to play which brought the game to five points.
With four minutes to play, Marian made two free throws then hit two big threes and found themselves up by nine which put pressure on the Pilots.
Even with an Aerts layup and two free throws from Lutz, the Pilots were out of attacking range as the Knights took the Crossroads League Quarterfinals win in Indianapolis, Ind.
Drew Lutz And
Nathan Aerts both led the Pilots with 17 points, and each had two rebounds apiece.
Preston Phillips recorded six rebounds and tacked on 15 points during the contest.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Pilots will wait to see if they get a bid for the NAIA tournament or defend their NCCAA Title in Winona Lake, Ind.
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