MEN’S BASKETBALL

The #9 Pilots of Bethel University proved too much for the Forester men’s basketball team Saturday afternoon at Platt Arena by scoring the game’s first seven points on the way to an 87-61 win over their hosts.

It was a bit slow going for both teams after Bethel’s initial spurt as the score stood at 13-9 after six minutes of play. Unfortunately, HU got stuck on nine points for three minutes allowing their visitors to stretch the lead to ten at 19-9. Konner Platt’s triple at the 11:16 mark trimmed it to seven. Single digits separated the two teams on just one other occasion before the Pilots claimed a permanent double-digit lead with nine minutes to go in the frame.

The difference stood at 16 points, 46-30, by halftime. Bethel padded their lead by ten more points in the final 20 minutes to make for the lopsided ending. With this win, the Pilots, who entered the afternoon having lost their last two contests, improve to 16-2 overall, 4-2 in league play.

While the Foresters limited one of the league’s top scorers in TreVion Crews to just nine points, four Pilots stepped up to log double digits with Grant Gelon leading the way with 18 points. Nathan Aerts came off the bench to collect 14 while Maxwell Newman and Keonte Jenkins tossed in 11 each.

Platt led Huntington with 21 points in addition to posting seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Hank Pulver netted 12 points. Klajd Kiri, in his fourth start of the year, poured in a career-best 11 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.

Turnovers plagued the Foresters as they committed an uncharacteristic 25 miscues while their visitors handed over the ball just seven times.

HU (9-9, 1-5) hits the road on Tuesday to face Indiana Wesleyan at 5:00 p.m.