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12.02.06
- The NAIA Division II
2nd-ranked Foresters (9-1, 3-0) went to battle against MCC
foe, Bethel College (5-5, 1-2). It was a neck-and-neck,
hard fought
battle
the entire game, but after 12 ties and 15 lead changes, it was the
Foresters that had better execution down the stretch to push them over
the top for the 93-85 victory.
The Pilots grabbed an
early 4-0 lead and were still up 21-16 with 8:37 to go in the half.
Two consecutive treys by HU's Kyle Benge and a third from Alex Kock
knotted the score at 25 apiece with 7:17 on the clock. Kyle Ganton
then took over the game for the next two and a half minutes. He
dropped in 11 straight points to give HU a seven-point advantage at
the four-minute mark. But Bethel didn't let the game get away
from them as they battled back to within one at 43-42 at the break.
The seesaw battled waged on in the second half. After multiple lead
changes, the Pilots applied full court pressure and the momentum began
to shift. Bethel rode the momentum to a 67-60 lead with
just over 12 minutes on the clock. HU used a timeout to re-group and
quickly ran off five unanswered points to pull back within two with
just over 11 minutes to play. The Pilots continued to respond to
each Forester run and were able to keep just ahead of HU until the
final minute.
With the score tied at 85-85, HU's Kock grabbed a Ganton miss and laid
it back in to put the Foresters up 87-85 with 1:00 showing on the
clock.
As Bethel brought the ball up the floor, Luke Smith was
whistled for a foul sending Bethel's Ryne Lightfoot to the line.
Lightfoot missed both free throws and Ganton grabbed the rebound. HU
worked the ball around and then found Ganton at the top where he sunk
his sixth three-pointer of the game to increase the Forester lead to
90-85 with 40 seconds remaining. A Pilot turnover forced them to foul
and HU went 3-4 at the charity stripe in the final 15 seconds to win
the war.
HU's Ganton topped all scorers in the game with 33 points and he added
nine rebounds. Kock chipped in his seventh double-double of the
season with 29 points and 11 boards and Kyle Benge added 16 points and
eight assists. The Pilots were led by William Walker with 28 points
and nine rebounds and Lightfoot finished with 23 points and
seven assists.
Box Score
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