Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball Moves On In MCC Tournament
Game Summary
The NAIA DII No. 3 Bethel College Pilots opened the MCC Tournament on Wednesday night hosting the Taylor University Trojans and advanced with a solid 73-53 triumph.
The Pilots jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead before the Trojans were able to dent the scoreboard. However, Taylor battled back to knot the score at 12-12 midway through the first period. Bethel maintained a slim 2 to 4 point lead until the intermission and went to the break with a 30-26 advantage.
The second stanza began with the Trojans cutting the deficit to 32-30 before the Pilots went on a huge 12-0 run to increase the margin to 44-30. From there, the lead grew steadily as the Pilots coasted the rest of the way to the victory.
Leading Bethel in scoring was Tyler Brown with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 steals. William Walker was next with 12 points and 13 boards for another double-double for the 2009 MCC Player of the Year. Mark Lettinga contributed 10 points in the winning effort. As a team, the Pilots connected on 58% from the field while holding the Trojans to just 36% for the game. Bethel also won the rebounding battle 35-24.
The win was the 20th in a row for the Pilots in the Wiekamp Athletic Center dating back to last season. Bethel now stands 28-3 on the year and will host Spring Arbor University on Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm in an MCC semifinal contest.
