Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball Moves On To MCC Championship Game
Game Summary
In an MCC Tournament semifinal contest, the NAIA No. 3 Bethel College Pilots used a balanced offensive attack and an outstanding defensive effort to post a 76-64 victory over the Spring Arbor University Cougars on Saturday afternoon at the Wiekamp Athletic Center. The triumph was the 21st consecutive win for the Pilots at home dating back to last season.
In the early stages of the first half, Spring Arbor was able to hold a slim lead over the Pilots. At the 6:46 mark of the period, the Cougars held a 25-22 advantage when Bethel went on a 12-0 run to grab a 34-25 lead with 1:31 left before intermission. At the horn, the Pilot led the Cougars, 36-29.
The second half began with Bethel cashing in the first two baskets to increase their lead to 40-29. The Cougars then managed to cut the deficit to seven (40-33), but a three-point bucket from Caleb Laidig pushed the margin back to ten at 43-33 with 14:28 left to play. Spring Arbor was unable to get any closer than nine after that, and another trey from Tyler Brown gave the Pilots their largest lead at 20 points (63-43) at the 6:37 mark of the period. The rest of the game was spent predominantly at the free throw line as Bethel closed out the contest and advanced into the conference championship game.
Leading four Pilots in double figure scoring was Ryne Lightfoot with 16 points to go with 5 assists. Tyler Brown was close behind tallying 15 points while grabbing 4 rebounds and handing out 3 assists. Caleb Laidig came off the bench with another fine effort scoring 13 points and coming up with 2 steals defensively. Wes Laidig likewise contributed quality minutes off the bench chipping in with 10 points, 4 boards, and 2 steals. Senior, Mark Lettinga, turned in a solid effort as well with 8 points and 9 rebounds. William Walker was held to 6 points, but contributed otherwise with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. As a team, Bethel won the rebounding battle 38-31, and continued their fine shooting from the charity stripe, 19 of 22 for 86%. In addition, the relentless Pilot defensive pressure created 22 Cougar turnovers for the game.
Afterwards, Bethel head coach, Mike Lightfoot stated: “I thought Wes Laidig, Caleb Laidig, and Stephen Ward really ignited our defensive play today. Those three gave us some great minutes toward the end of the first half and did a lot of good things both offensively and defensively. And even though William Walker struggled a bit today offensively, Tyler Brown probably played one of his best games of the year today. Tyler was refocused and played with a purpose at both ends of the court.”
So the 2009 MCC Tournament Championship game is now set for Tuesday night at 7:00 pm at the Wiekamp Athletic Center where the Pilots, now 29-3 for the season, will host the 27-5 Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats (#6 NAIA DII).
