MARION – The No. 14 ranked Bethel College men’s basketball team faced a difficult challenge on Saturday afternoon traveling to Indiana Wesleyan University to take on the No. 3 ranked Wildcats and came away with a hard fought 88-84 victory in a key Crossroads League showdown of league leaders.

Bethel struggled early in the game with three consecutive turnovers in their first three possessions, followed by two missed field goal attempts before finally getting on the board with a three-pointer from Caleb Oetjen.

The Pilots quickly found themselves down nine with 15:07 left to play in the first half. Bethel faced the biggest deficit of the night down by 12 with 12:09 left in the half (25-13). The Pilots finally found life going on a 9-2 run in the next three minutes of the game to cut the Wildcats’ lead to just five. The Pilots also picked up the pressure defensively allowing the Wildcats to score just 15 points during the last 12 minutes of the half. With 5:07, senior Jordyn Coon connected on a 15-foot jumper to give the Pilots the advantage. BC used the momentum to help extend their lead, and headed into intermission with a five-point cushion (45-40).

The Pilots headed into halftime shooting 46 percent from the field connecting on 14-of-30 attempts while shooting just 33 percent from the behind the three-point line. Oetjen and Paul Forman  each led the Pilots with eight points at the half, while pulling down two rebounds a piece. Senior Ryan Wassink added seven points with six rebounds and in his first game back in 11 games senior Clay Yeo added seven points while going a perfect 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.

Both teams fought back and forth during the second half, with neither one able to gain the edge on the other. Midway through the second-half Wassink  connected from deep to give the Pilots a seven point lead, but the Wildcats quickly responded going on a 14-3 run to take a 69-65 lead with 9:30 left to play.

Yeo, with 1:14 left to play,  connected on 1-of-2 from the line and gave the Pilots a two-point lead. IWU quickly came down trying to tie up the game but Coon pulled down the rebound on a missed lay-up and advanced the ball to Wassink who was fouled with 39 seconds to go. Wassink connected on both free throws to increase the Pilots lead to four. The Wildcats once again failed to convert on the offensive end, and were forced to foul again after a turnover. In the last 1:14 the Pilots connected on 7-of-10 free-throws to solidify an 88-84 upset victory giving the Wildcats their third straight loss.

Wassink finished the night with his first career double-double with 17 points going 5-of-8 from the field and ripping down 11 rebounds. Forward Gage Ott also added 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting with four rebounds. Oetjen added 15 points, while Forman added 14 going a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.

Senior guard Yeo, who has not played since injuring his knee in mid-November, made some return for the Pilots. The former Triton High School star finished the game with 12 points, three rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes off the bench.

Yeo, who was the top scorer for the Pilots each of the past two seasons, decided earlier this week to return to the floor and delay surgery on his injured knee until after the season. He moved into the top 25 all-time in career scoring at Bethel with his 12-point effort Saturday.

The Pilots move to 15-3 on the season and 5-1 in the Crossroads League. The Wildcats fall to 14-4 in the season and 4-2 in the Crossroads League.

The Pilots host Spring Arbor Tuesday in another conference contest. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.