Pilots Maintain Mastery Over Lancers
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
WINONA LAKE - The Bethel Pilots men's basketball team entered Thursday's game with Grace experiencing something coach Mike Lightfoot is unfamiliar with: a slump.
"This is the first time in my 13 years we have lost four of five," Lightfoot said. "We lost three in a row once, in 1993."
The Pilots, ranked No. 6 in NAIA Division II, had lost four of five and were 16-4 overall and 0-2 in the Mid-Central Conference.
They also entered experiencing something Lightfoot is familiar with: a winning streak. In this case, against Grace College. The Pilots had won 14 straight meetings with the Lancers.
Would the slump continue? Or would the streak against Grace end the slump?
The streak won out as Bethel beat Grace (9-12, 0-3 MCC) 77-65.
"Back in the 1970s when I played at Bethel, we couldn't beat Grace," Lightfoot said. "I know we went a long time without beating Grace."
And it was the all-time series, which Grace leads for now at 45-42, that Grace coach Jim Kessler turned to.
"Quite frankly, I don't follow that stuff," he said. "You have to look at the big picture: Grace has the edge. Bethel has had a run here where they have some really nice teams. We haven't had the quality of play the last several years."
Six-foot-9 senior center Eric Brand led Bethel with 22 points. Sophomore forward Eric Stults, who played high school basketball for Argos, scored 20 on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.
Junior guard Ben Tonagel, who became the 29th Lancer to surpass 1,000 points in a career, led Grace with 12 points. He is at 1,003 and counting.
The key stretch for the Pilots came during a six-minute stretch late in the first half when they outscored Grace 21-4 to turn a 17-17 tie with 7:55 to go into a 38-21 lead with 1:49 left.
Defensively, Bethel ratcheted up the pressure on the perimeter and forced several turnovers during the run. While Grace finished the game with just three more turnovers (18-15), the Lancers' errors cost more. Bethel outscored Grace 25-14 on points off turnovers.
"Their pressure in the first half was a factor," Kessler said. "They took us out of a lot of things we wanted to do. The way to deal with pressure is not to get in a hurry, but that goes against everything you feel. You feel like you have to speed up.
"Their quickness exploited us. They rode that spurt. Bethel's good at that."
The offensive hero for Bethel was Stults, who came in averaging 4.9 points per game but dropped his season-high of 20 on Grace. He scored 10 during the 21-4 run.
"You never know," Lightfoot said. "I just felt Eric would have a big game for us. He hit some big threes when we needed them. This is the best game he's played in 15 games."
Said Kessler: "Stults just had a career against us. He's a fine player, we didn't find him, and he bottomed them."
Sam Gensic, a freshman who played for Carroll (Allen), also came up big during the stretch. Gensic finished the game with seven points and two steals, and he delivered those seven points and two steals during the 21-4 outburst. Gensic scored layups after each of his two steals.
"That was good to see we didn't give them any baskets during that run," Lightfoot said. "All their points came off free throws. When you can do that on the road, that gives you a boost of confidence."
Undeterred, the Lancers fought their way back in the game in the second half. After trailing 41-25 at the half, Grace pulled within five of the lead at 51-46, but that was as close as the Lancers would get.
"The second half, I thought we pulled our way back in and dealt with the pressure in a more positive way," Kessler said. "I know what the score is, but we fouled late. We outscored them (40-36) and outplayed them the second half. If we play this team early in the season, they probably beat us badly.
"But you have to play two halves."
No. 6 BETHEL 77, GRACE 65
Bethel (17-4, 1-2) 41 36 - 77
Grace (9-12, 0-3) 25 40 - 65
Bethel FG FT A S R Pts.
Brand (C) 4-8 14-21 2 1 10 22
Ganger (G) 2-5 2-2 0 0 1 7
Smith (G) 2-3 0-0 1 0 2 4
Coolman (F) 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
Haverstick (F) 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0
Stults 8-10 1-2 0 1 2 20
Gensic 3-4 0-0 1 2 2 7
Grindle 1-6 5-6 1 0 8 7
Saurer 2-2 0-0 1 0 1 6
Ritter 1-2 0-1 1 0 0 2
Lee 1-2 0-0 1 0 1 2
Henry 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 0
Zartman 0-2 0-1 2 1 0 0
Abernathy 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0
Team - - - - 5 -
Totals 24-48 22-33 11 6 34 77
Grace FG FT A S R Pts.
Tonagel (F) 5-11 0-1 2 1 4 12
Burnett (F) 2-7 7-7 2 2 2 11
Bricker (G) 4-8 0-0 2 0 1 10
Scharlach (C) 5-8 0-4 3 0 3 10
Moore (G) 1-5 5-5 2 0 1 7
Brown 3-3 0-0 1 0 2 6
Taylor 2-4 1-4 3 2 3 5
O'Dell 0-0 2-2 0 1 6 2
Swanson 0-1 2-4 1 0 0 2
Team - - - - 8 -
Totals 22-47 17-27 16 6 30 65
Three-point goals -ÊBethel 7-14 (Stults 3-5, Saurer 2-2, Gensic 1-2, Henry 0-1, Zartman 0-1, Grindle 0-1, Abernathy 0-1), Grace 4-15 (Tonagel 2-7, Bricker 2-5, Moore 0-2, Swanson 0-1). Turnovers - Grace 18, Bethel 15. Total fouls - Grace 23, Bethel 25. Fouled out -ÊBurnett, Taylor. [[In-content Ad]]
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WINONA LAKE - The Bethel Pilots men's basketball team entered Thursday's game with Grace experiencing something coach Mike Lightfoot is unfamiliar with: a slump.
"This is the first time in my 13 years we have lost four of five," Lightfoot said. "We lost three in a row once, in 1993."
The Pilots, ranked No. 6 in NAIA Division II, had lost four of five and were 16-4 overall and 0-2 in the Mid-Central Conference.
They also entered experiencing something Lightfoot is familiar with: a winning streak. In this case, against Grace College. The Pilots had won 14 straight meetings with the Lancers.
Would the slump continue? Or would the streak against Grace end the slump?
The streak won out as Bethel beat Grace (9-12, 0-3 MCC) 77-65.
"Back in the 1970s when I played at Bethel, we couldn't beat Grace," Lightfoot said. "I know we went a long time without beating Grace."
And it was the all-time series, which Grace leads for now at 45-42, that Grace coach Jim Kessler turned to.
"Quite frankly, I don't follow that stuff," he said. "You have to look at the big picture: Grace has the edge. Bethel has had a run here where they have some really nice teams. We haven't had the quality of play the last several years."
Six-foot-9 senior center Eric Brand led Bethel with 22 points. Sophomore forward Eric Stults, who played high school basketball for Argos, scored 20 on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.
Junior guard Ben Tonagel, who became the 29th Lancer to surpass 1,000 points in a career, led Grace with 12 points. He is at 1,003 and counting.
The key stretch for the Pilots came during a six-minute stretch late in the first half when they outscored Grace 21-4 to turn a 17-17 tie with 7:55 to go into a 38-21 lead with 1:49 left.
Defensively, Bethel ratcheted up the pressure on the perimeter and forced several turnovers during the run. While Grace finished the game with just three more turnovers (18-15), the Lancers' errors cost more. Bethel outscored Grace 25-14 on points off turnovers.
"Their pressure in the first half was a factor," Kessler said. "They took us out of a lot of things we wanted to do. The way to deal with pressure is not to get in a hurry, but that goes against everything you feel. You feel like you have to speed up.
"Their quickness exploited us. They rode that spurt. Bethel's good at that."
The offensive hero for Bethel was Stults, who came in averaging 4.9 points per game but dropped his season-high of 20 on Grace. He scored 10 during the 21-4 run.
"You never know," Lightfoot said. "I just felt Eric would have a big game for us. He hit some big threes when we needed them. This is the best game he's played in 15 games."
Said Kessler: "Stults just had a career against us. He's a fine player, we didn't find him, and he bottomed them."
Sam Gensic, a freshman who played for Carroll (Allen), also came up big during the stretch. Gensic finished the game with seven points and two steals, and he delivered those seven points and two steals during the 21-4 outburst. Gensic scored layups after each of his two steals.
"That was good to see we didn't give them any baskets during that run," Lightfoot said. "All their points came off free throws. When you can do that on the road, that gives you a boost of confidence."
Undeterred, the Lancers fought their way back in the game in the second half. After trailing 41-25 at the half, Grace pulled within five of the lead at 51-46, but that was as close as the Lancers would get.
"The second half, I thought we pulled our way back in and dealt with the pressure in a more positive way," Kessler said. "I know what the score is, but we fouled late. We outscored them (40-36) and outplayed them the second half. If we play this team early in the season, they probably beat us badly.
"But you have to play two halves."
No. 6 BETHEL 77, GRACE 65
Bethel (17-4, 1-2) 41 36 - 77
Grace (9-12, 0-3) 25 40 - 65
Bethel FG FT A S R Pts.
Brand (C) 4-8 14-21 2 1 10 22
Ganger (G) 2-5 2-2 0 0 1 7
Smith (G) 2-3 0-0 1 0 2 4
Coolman (F) 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
Haverstick (F) 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0
Stults 8-10 1-2 0 1 2 20
Gensic 3-4 0-0 1 2 2 7
Grindle 1-6 5-6 1 0 8 7
Saurer 2-2 0-0 1 0 1 6
Ritter 1-2 0-1 1 0 0 2
Lee 1-2 0-0 1 0 1 2
Henry 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 0
Zartman 0-2 0-1 2 1 0 0
Abernathy 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0
Team - - - - 5 -
Totals 24-48 22-33 11 6 34 77
Grace FG FT A S R Pts.
Tonagel (F) 5-11 0-1 2 1 4 12
Burnett (F) 2-7 7-7 2 2 2 11
Bricker (G) 4-8 0-0 2 0 1 10
Scharlach (C) 5-8 0-4 3 0 3 10
Moore (G) 1-5 5-5 2 0 1 7
Brown 3-3 0-0 1 0 2 6
Taylor 2-4 1-4 3 2 3 5
O'Dell 0-0 2-2 0 1 6 2
Swanson 0-1 2-4 1 0 0 2
Team - - - - 8 -
Totals 22-47 17-27 16 6 30 65
Three-point goals -ÊBethel 7-14 (Stults 3-5, Saurer 2-2, Gensic 1-2, Henry 0-1, Zartman 0-1, Grindle 0-1, Abernathy 0-1), Grace 4-15 (Tonagel 2-7, Bricker 2-5, Moore 0-2, Swanson 0-1). Turnovers - Grace 18, Bethel 15. Total fouls - Grace 23, Bethel 25. Fouled out -ÊBurnett, Taylor. [[In-content Ad]]