Paul Marandet of Spring Arbor is defended by Tanner Shepherd of Bethel Tuesday night at Bethel. Marandet starred at Warsaw and Shepherd at Triton. The Pilots rallied late to edge the Cougars 81-80 in a Crossroads League contest.

MISHAWAKA – It was another big shot by another one of Bethel’s bigs that was the difference again Tuesday night.

Junior Paul Forman converted a layup with just under 20 seconds to play as the host Pilots rallied late to edge Spring Arbor 81-80 for another close and big win in Crossroads League action in the Wiekamp Center.

Forman, a 6-8 forward from Churubusco, was the man of the night as No. 16 Bethel came back from a 10-point deficit in the final seven minutes to win the thriller. Forman finished with 24 points, including making all eight of his free throw attempts.

The Pilots, who have now won 13 in a row versus the Cougars including a pair of one-points finals this season, won 77-75 at Grace College Saturday as 6-8 senior Gage Ott hit a shot in the final 10 seconds.

The Bethel win overshadowed a sensational effort by Spring Arbor guard Paul Marandet. The former Warsaw star canned a game-high 25 points, including 19 in the final half. A three-point play by the star sophomore guard gave his team a 69-59 lead with 6:44 to play before Bethel stormed back.

Tanner Shepherd boxes out Paul Marandet.

Marandet, who also led the No. 22 ranked Cougars with seven assists, hit two free throws with 35.9 seconds to play to give his team an 80-79 lead. After a timeout by each team, Forman worked his way inside against the smaller Cougar frontline and converted to make it 81-80.

Marandet misfired on a shot on his team’s final possession and the Cougars were not able to get off another shot as the final horn sounded after a wild scramble for the loose ball.

The line and the glass were the big keys as Bethel improved to 20-7 overall and moved to 9-7 in league play with its third straight win. It’s the sixth straight season with at least 20 wins for the Pilots.

First-year Bethel coach Ryne Lightfoot, a former star at both NorthWood High School and Bethel, also became the second quickest coach in Crossroads League history to win 20 games. trailing only St. Francis coach Chad LaCross who did it in 26 games in 2010-11.

Lightfoot also becomes the quickest Bethel coach to reach 20 wins. He edges out his father and Hall of Famer Mike, whom he replaced, for the honor. Mike Lightfoot, for whom the court in the Wiekamp Center is now named, took 28 games to reach his first 20 wins. The elder Lightfoot, who retired following last season, won 794 games and seven national championships (three NAIA, four NCCAA) in his 30 seasons at Bethel.

The Pilots, who ranked fourth in the country in rebounding, dominated the glass with a 30-19 margin. Bethel has been out rebounded just three times all season and the 19 Spring Arbor caroms Tuesday night were the fewest allowed by the Pilots this season.

The hosts also drained 20-25 free throws, including 11-16 in the second half. Spring Arbor was 11-12 from the line.

The Cougars, who lost 63-62 at home to Bethel back on Jan. 9, bolted to a quick 8-2 lead to open the game. The Pilots answered behind the play of Ott and Forman down low and Trey’von Covington outside.

Sophomore Paul Marandet scored a game-high 25 points.

Bethel led 36-25 at halftime after senior Tanner Shepherd, a Triton High School product, drained a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds to play. Forman had 11 points and Ott and Covington each had eight in the opening half to pace the Pilots, who were 9-9 from the line. Tommy Hamilton hit 6-7 shots, including 3-3 from distance, to tally 16 to keep the Cougars close.

The second half was tight throughout the first 10 minutes. The game was tied at 55-55 at the 10-minute mark after Hamilton drained a triple for Spring Arbor. Marandet then hit a pullup jumper in the lane to give his team the lead and spark a 14-4 run to make it 69-59.

Ott had 15 points and seven rebounds before fouling out for Bethel. Covington canned 13 points and former Penn standout Ryan Lutz 11. Ott, who played at LaPorte High School and is one of four seniors for the Pilots, now needs just six more rebounds to become the 17th player in the illustrious history of the program to have 1,500 points and 600 rebounds. Ott now has 1,502 career points.

Junior guard Hamilton finished with 21 points and senior forward Zach Medendorp added 14 for the Cougars, who have not beaten Bethel since 2012. The 13-game winning streak for the Pilots is the second-longest active streak in the league.

The entertaining contest featured 15 ties and 20 lead changes.

Marandet, who had 26 points in the first contest versus Bethel, finished 8-18 from the field and 8-9 from the line. Marandet entered play Tuesday night averaging a team-high 18.3 points-per-game for the Cougars.

Shepherd finished with five points, six rebounds and three steals for the Pilots. The senior guard entered play Tuesday night averaging 10.7 points and five rebounds per game. All five starters for the Pilots average double figures.

Spring Arbor, which drops to 19-8 overall and goes to 7-8 in conference play with its third straight loss, will host league opponent Grace College Saturday afternoon.

Bethel plays at conference foe Mt. Vernon Nazarene Saturday afternoon.

Former area prep hoops stars Paul Marandet (left) and Tanner Shepherd focus Tuesday night.