MISHAWAKA – The No. 9 Bethel College men’s basketball team returned home on Tuesday night hosting Spring Arbor University and came away with a 80-69 victory in a Crossroads League contest.

The win improves Bethel to 16-3 during the season, and 6-1 in Crossroads League play.

In the game’s first few minutes of action, the Pilots struggled defensively as Spring Arbor got out to a quick 13-7 run.

Spring Arbor freshman and Warsaw native Paul Marandet had the hot hand early scoring the first nine points of the game for the Cougars. The Pilots began to settle down after the first few minutes clawing their way back into the game. Ryan Wassink, Trey’von Covington, and Jordyn Coon all helped the Pilots connecting from deep to help give BC a four point lead midway through the first half. The Pilots finished out the half on a 20-13 run and heading into the locker-room with a 44-33 lead.

The Pilots shot a solid 56 percent during the first half while shooting 46 percent from behind the three-point line. Senior guard Caleb Oetjen led all scorers at the break with 14 points followed by Covington with 11.

The second proved to be a game of runs for both teams. Forward, Gage Ott began things off with an old fashion three-point play, followed by a lay-up from Oetjen to give the Pilots a comfortable 16-point lead (49-33) with 18:35 left to play. Within the next five minutes of the game, the Cougars responded by putting together a 13-0 run to cut the Pilots lead to just three (49-46). The Pilots answered with a run of their own going on an 18-6 spurt to extend the lead to 15 (67-52) with 7:27 left to play. The next few minutes was all Spring Arbor as they once again cut the Pilot lead to just three (69-66) going on a 14-2 surge looking to take control of the game. In the last 3:47, the Pilots held Spring Arbor to just three points while connecting from the free-throw line to solidify the win.

Oetjen led the way for the Pilots with 23 points and six rebounds, followed by Ott who finished with 14 points going 6-of-10 from the field while pulling down nine rebounds. Both Coon and Covington finished with 11 points each, while Clay Yeo added 10. The Pilots finished the night shooting 48 percent from the field while shooting 36 percent from beyond the three-point line.

Freshman point guard Marandet turned in a huge performance to pace Spring Arbor. The former WCHS standout led the Cougars finishing the night with 24 points on 8-15 shooting and a perfect 5-of-5 from behind the arc. Marandet also had five rebounds and two assists in the contest.

The Cougars fall to 11-8 overall and 3-4 in the Crossroads League.

Bethel plays at Mount Vernon  Nazarene and Spring Arbor hosts Grace on Saturday. Both games are slated for 3 p.m. tip-offs.