MISHAWAKA – A balanced scoring attack helped the Bethel College men’s basketball team earn a hard fought 96-84 victory against No. 3 ranked Saint Francis Saturday afternoon in a key Crossroads League contest.

The Pilots began the game on fire connecting on seven of the first ten shots from the field taking a quick 19-11 lead with 14:37 left to play in the first half. Throughout the rest of the first half the Pilots continued to slowly increase their lead and at the half headed into the locker room with a solid 51-35 advantage.

During the first half the Pilots shot the ball at a very high percentage shooting 60.6 percent from the field and a season high 60 percent from behind the three-point line (9-15). The Pilots also locked in defensively holding the Cougars to just 39 percent from the field and just 25 percent from behind the arc.

Senior guard Nick Kindig  led the Pilots at the half with 13 points going 5-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from deep. Caleb Oetjen  added 12 points going connecting on 5-of-8 attempts.

Saint Francis forward Kyle Sovine led the way for the Cougars with 16 points going 4-of-6 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.

The Cougars came out on a mission during the beginning of the second half going on a quick 10-2 run cutting the Pilots lead to just 10 (55-45). With 10:27 left to play in the game the Cougars had cut the Pilots lead to just five, but an offensive rebound and put-back by Gage Ott gave BC a seven point lead. In the next minutes of the game, both teams traded buckets back and forth with neither team taking control.

With 1:32 left to play in the game, the Pilots owned a seven-point lead with the Cougars in possession of the ball. The Pilots responded, deflecting the ball and Ott dove on the ball, and called timeout to give the Pilots the ball. During the time-out a double-technical foul against the Cougars resulted in four free-throw attempts for the Pilots and the ball. Senior Jordyn Coon stepped up to the line knocking down all four attempts to give the Pilots an 11-point lead (86-75). Saint Francis continued to fight but the deficit was too much for the Cougars to overcome as the Pilots came away with their eighth win in row and ninth victory in the Crossroads League.

Oetjen led the way for the Pilots with 25 point on the night going 10-of-16 from the field and 4-of-6 from behind the arc.

Kindig, a former standout at Tippecanoe Valley High School, added 20 points followed by Ryan Wassink who added 14 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and 4-of-4 from downtown. Coon, a WCHS product, and Covington each added 10 points and senior Clay Yeo finished with nine while pulling down five rebounds and dishing out five assists.

The Pilots finished the game shooting 53 percent from the field and a season high 62.5 percent from behind the three-point line.

The Pilots move to 19-3 overall and 9-1 in the Crossroads League. The Pilots are currently first in the Crossroads League with eight games left to play. The Pilots travel to Huntington University on Tuesday for another league game at 7 p.m.