Bethel Hoops Journal

Pilots Host Team Camp

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:00:00 GMT

The Bethel College men’s basketball program hosts their annual Team Camp on the campus of Bethel College. The camp features numerous Pilot recruits and will conclude this evening at 5 pm.

Bethel Partners with St. Joe Fair

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 07:00:00 GMT

The Bethel College men’s basketball team in partnership with the St. Joseph County 4-H Fair is hosting the 2nd annual 3-on3 basketball tournament. The tournament will take place July 5th and 6th from 6:00pm-10:00pm with the championship game help July 8th starting at 6:00pm. There will also be a slam dunk and 3-point shooting contest immediately following the championship game.

William Walker: Life After Bethel

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 07:00:00 GMT

William Walker, the 3-time Bethel MVP and former NAIA National Player of the Year, talks about his professional career in the South Bend Tribune:

South Bend Tribune

Ward and Moser to Lead Clinics

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 07:00:00 GMT

Bethel basketball guards Steve Ward and Derek Moser will be traveling to New Mexico this July to do a week long camp in the largest Navajo reservation in the country. The reservation occupies parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.

The Navajo Outreach is in partnership with Saddleback Church in Los Angeles. The Bethel College Board of Directors and former Bethel Pilot great Dick Riddle will also be attending the clinics.

The trip will take place July 15-26.

Bethel Basketball Camp

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 07:00:00 GMT

The 2010-2011 season kicks off for Bethel College as they hold their annual summer basketball camps. The new-look Pilot youngsters, which features an 8 freshmen roster, will be working all of the summer camps. Senior captains Caleb Laidig and Joey Welch will be conducting clinics, workouts and open gyms in between camps to get to know the incoming players as well as develop an off-the-court relationship. The season will be here before you know it.

For the latest in Bethel basketball follow our Twitter and Facebook by clicking the following links:

Bethelhoops on Twitter

Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? Join today to start receiving updates from BethelHoops..

Bethelhoops on Facebook

Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. Millions of people use Facebook everyday to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.

Lightfoot Earns All-American

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 07:00:00 GMT

The honors keep coming in for Bethel senior Ryne Lightfoot. Lightfoot was recently named to the NAIA All-American list as a third team honoree.

Lightfoot concluded his Bethel career last week with his team�s third trip to the NAIA National Championship in Point Lookout, Mo.

Ryne led the Pilots to two MCC Championships during his career while amassing over 2,000 career points scored, 650 assists, and 500 rebounds.

OT Heartache Ends Season

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:00:00 GMT

For the second time at the tournament, #8 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) battled back from a double-digit ,second-half deficit to knock off Bethel College (Ind.) 67-64 in overtime. � It marks the third time the Eagles will play in the Elite Eight and first since 2001. The 2010 event is being held at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks (Mo.). � The game lived up to its seeding as the two teams exchanged the lead seven times in the opening half. Bethel went on the games first substantial run, when, down one (12-11), the Pilots outscored Embry-Riddle 14-2 to open up a 25-14 advantage. Bethel held the Eagles to just one field goal over a five minute stretch during the run. A Ryne Lightfoot three-pointer followed by a three-point play by Tony Benford gave the Pilots their largest lead of the game (33-19) just before the half. Both teams struggled from the perimeter in the first period as Bethel shot 17% (1/6) and Embry-Riddle shot only 10% (1/10). � Embry-Riddle opened the second half with a pair of three-pointers by Blake Touchard and Danny Krazit to move to within two, 37-35. Bethel responded with a run of its own and after two free throws by Wes Laidig, pushed its lead back to seven with under six minutes left. Another Touchard three-pointer, his third of the game, cut it to one and Embry-Riddle grabbed its first lead since early in the first half on five free throws, the final two by Ray Graham with under a minute to go. Down three (60-57), Bethel came out of a timeout and Benford delivered a game-tying three-pointer with seconds left to send the game into overtime. � The teams traded baskets for most of the extra period and the game was tied at 64 after a jumper by Lightfoot. On the ensuing possession, Embry-Riddle guard Glenn Dalcourt put the Eagles ahead on a jumper with 21 seconds left. Bethel came down but missed on their final two attempts to tie it in the closing seconds. � � Embry-Riddle shot 39% for the game and held a big 43-32 advantage on the boards. David Butler scored 17 points to lead the Eagles while teammate Blake Touchard added 13. Eric Lorenzi registered a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. � Bethel was paced by Wes Laidig with 13 points and seven rebounds while Tony Benford put in 10. The Pilots shot 39% for the game and continued to struggle from the perimeter, shooting 25%.

Ward gives Bethel Boost in 1st Round

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Ninth-seeded Bethel College (Ind.) battled back from a seven point, halftime deficit to defeat Friends University (Kan.) 77-67 in the opening round of the 2010 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship. The 2010 event is being held at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks (Mo.).

Friends University, making its fourth appearance in the tournament, controlled the first half, shooting 30% from 3-point range while Bethel struggled to find the bottom of the net and hit on just 20%. The Falcons made 11-of-33 shots from the field and held Bethel to 26%.

The Falcons’ biggest lead of the first half came early when Chris Jackson took the grabbed the ball off of a turnover and hit a three-pointer to go up 10-2. � In the second half, the momentum shifted into the hands of Bethel. Stephen Ward stripped the ball from Brett Steven at the 14:09 mark and took it to the other end untouched to bring the Pilots within four points. A few minutes later, Bethel took its first lead of the game with a Stephen Ward three-pointer to make it 48-45. � The struggle continued between the two teams until the end of the game when Friends was forced to foul. The Pilots hit seven of their last nine free throws to preserve the win and advance to the second round for the third straight year. � Bethel totaled four players in double figures, led by Tyler Brown with 20 points. The senior forward grabbed seven rebounds and had two assists. Ryne Lightfoot had 13 points, four boards and two assists. Tony Benford produced 10 points, five rebounds and Stephen Ward netted 10 as well. � Jackson led the Falcons with 30 points, seven boards while also dishing out four assists. Romar Jones and Mike Hyde also scored in double figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Friends ends the season with a 25-7 overall record. � Bethel, who improves to 28-6 and an 8-1 first round record in the NAIA Championship Tournament, will face Embry-Riddle (Fla.) on Friday at 8:30 a.m. The 32-team, single elimination tournament concludes March 17, 2009.

Bethel vs. Friends NAIA Game Notes

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:00:00 GMT

NAIA Round #1 vs. Friends

Pilots Fall in Finale

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:00:00 GMT

The Pilots fall to Indiana Wesleyan in the MCC championship 68-78.

Bethel Over Spring Arbor

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

In an extremely hard fought contest, the No. 10 ranked Bethel College Pilots prevailed over the No. 21 ranked Spring Arbor University Cougars in an MCC Tournament semifinal game by the score of 65-57.�The Pilots, now 27-5 on the season, move on to the MCC Championship game to be played next Tuesday evening at No. 3 ranked Indiana Wesleyan University.�The two teams split their regular season contests with both teams winning on their home courts. � In the first half of action, Bethel jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead as Tyler Brown tallied all seven points in the early going.�However, the Cougars answered with a 7-0 run of their own to knot things at 7-7.�The Pilots then scored the next eight points to re-take a 15-7 lead at the 13:37 mark.�The margin grew to eleven (24-13) on a Ryne Lightfoot three-point basket before Spring Arbor charged back to trim the deficit to just three at 24-21.�And at the break, Bethel held a 29-24 lead over the visiting Cougars. � In the second half, the Pilots quickly increased their lead to ten (37-27) with 15:24 remaining in the contest.�Over the next eight minutes of play, the Bethel advantage hovered between seven and thirteen points until a Caleb Laidig basket gave the Pilots a 54-39 cushion with 7:39 left to play.�The Cougars were unable to get the deficit back to single digits again until the final couple of minutes, and the Pilots held on to seal the victory. � Four Pilots reached double figure scoring in this one led by Ryne Lightfoot�s 17 point, seven rebound effort. Tyler Brown finished with 15 points and five boards, while Wes Laidig chipped in with 11 points for the day.�Tony Benford contributed 10 points and six rebounds in the winning effort as well. Caleb Laidig tallied nine points including a huge dunk late in the game to go along with a game high six assists and three steals. � Again, it was the Bethel defense that stood out as they held the Cougars to just 36% shooting from the field and 18% from behind the arc. The Pilots also won the rebounding war by the margin of 34-27. � After the game, Bethel head coach Mike Lightfoot commented, �It certainly gets to be a grind when you�re playing a team for the third time.�There are no secrets because both teams know each other so well.�Although we didn�t do a good job containing Baisden, I thought we were pretty consistent at the defensive end today.� � The MCC Tournament championship game is now set for Tuesday, March 2nd with the Pilots traveling to Indiana Wesleyan for a 7:00 pm tip-off.

Bethel vs. SAU

Bethel Cruises Over Marian

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

The No. 10 ranked Bethel College Pilots opened play in the 2010 MCC post season tournament on Wednesday night by hosting the Marian University Knights, and cruised to an 89-57 victory. With the win, the Pilots improve to 26-5 on the campaign while the Knights close out their season with a 13-15 mark.

Both teams got off to a rather sluggish start as the offenses had a difficult time finding the basket. As a result, the Pilots held an 11-10 lead at the 10:56 mark of the period. However, Bethel then went on a big 18-5 run to extend their lead to 29-15 with 4:27 left until the break. And when Bethel�s Wes Laidig hit a bucket just before half, the Pilots had their largest lead at intermission, 40-21.

The second half began with the Pilots scoring the first four points to extend to a 44-21 advantage, and the margin grew steadily throughout the rest of the game. A basket from Jordan Bowerman at the 9:48 mark gave the Pilots a 30 point cushion (61-31), and a field goal from Derek Moser with 1:08 remaining gave the Pilots their largest lead of the contest at 87-52.

Balanced scoring has been a strength for Bethel all season and this game was certainly no exception as six Pilots hit for double figure scoring. Leading the way was Tony Benford with 14 points and 9 rebounds followed by Tyler Brown with 13 points to go with 9 boards. Jordan Bowerman came off the bench to score 12 points for the Pilots while Ryne Lightfoot, Wes Laidig and Derek Moser each tallied 10 points for the game. Lightfoot accounted for a game high 7 assist, and Caleb Laidig grabbed 10 rebounds for the Pilots.

As a team, Bethel dominated in several statistical areas. The Pilots shot 54% from the field while holding Marian to just 34% shooting. And Bethel held a commanding 52-20 rebounding advantage.

Afterwards, Bethel head coach Mike Lightfoot commented: �I thought our guys put forth a solid defensive effort from start to finish tonight. Keeping them off the boards and limiting them to one shot really helped jump start us offensively. We struggled early, but things began clicking once we got our transition game going.��

Bethel will return to action on Saturday afternoon as they will host the No. 21 ranked Spring Arbor University Cougars in semifinal action of the 2010 MCC Tournament. Tip-off is set for 3:00pm in the Wiekamp Athletic Center.

Ritz To Play for Pilots

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Kyle Ritz, a 6-1 160 pound senior from Munster, Indiana, has chosen to continue his career at Bethel College. Ritz is a true point guard who loves the open court, quick-strike style of basketball and currently averages� 6.6 PPG� 5.0 APG� 3.3 RPG. � �

The Ritz File

A strong pass first team leader who can finish at the rim or pull up and score when needed. �
Has a solid mid range jumper to go with outstanding ball handling skills �
Started for Mike Hackett the first game of his sophomore year and is now a third year starter. �
A true student of the game and coach on the floor for Coach Hackett while running multiple offensive and defensive sets and variations throughout the game. �
Currently has won 57 of his last 62 games at Munster including a 4A final four appearance last year. �
Munster has won the Northwest Crossroads Conference title for the last three years while going undefeated in conference play. �
Currently leads the team in assists per game and has over a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio. �
Tied the Munster single game record for assists with 13. �
Is currently shooting 85% from the free throw line this year. �
Currently carries a 4.13 GPA (On a 4.0 Scale) at Munster, mostly taking Advanced Placement coursework.� �
Kyle is National Honor Society Member and scored a perfect 800 on the SAT Math Exam. �
Kyle will pursue an Accounting / Business Major at Bethel.

MCC Awards Announced

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

The MCC coaches met today and announced the 2009-2010 All-MCC awards. Bethel Pilots Ryne Lightfoot, Wes Laidig, Tyler Brown, Caleb Laidig and Tony Benford all receiving honors for their conference efforts. Here is how the voting looked in order of most votes:

First Team All-MCC

Errick McCollum II (Goshen) (PLAYER OF THE YEAR)

Zach Coverstone (IWU)

Ryne Lightfoot (Bethel)

DeJovaun Sawyer-Davis (St. Francis)

DJ Baisden (SAU)

Second Team All-MCC

David Swanson (Grace)

Jordan Tucker (Marian)

Kellen Zawadzki (Huntington)

Spencer Harris (IWU)

Wes Laidig (Bethel)

Third Team All-MCC

Tyler Brown (Bethel)

Rob Boss (SAU)

Casey Coons (Taylor)

Duke Johnson (Grace)

Tyler Shively (Huntington)

MCC Honorable Mention

Q. Owens (USF)

W. Huburtz (IWU)

L. Smith (HU)

N. West (Goshen)

W. Pickvet (SAU)

E. Smith (Grace)

C. Laidig (Bethel)

R. Hetrick (IWU)

A. Sylvester (Marian)

T. Peller (Taylor)

B. Malone (Marian)

M. Edmonds (USF)

F. Morales-Soto (USF)

All-MCC Newcomber Team

Casey Coons (Taylor) (Newcomber of the Year)

Elliot Smith (Grace)

Q. Owens (USF)

Aaron Martin (IWU)

Tony Benford (Bethel)

All-Defensive Team

Zach Coverstone (IWU)

Errick McCollum II (Goshen)

B. Malone (Marian)

C. Laidig (Bethel)

S. Harris (IWU)

MCC Coach of the Year

Ryan Cottingham (SAU)

Bethel Dominates St. Francis

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

The No. 12 ranked Bethel College Pilots traveled to Ft. Wayne on Saturday afternoon to meet the No. 10 ranked University of St. Francis Cougars in the MCC regular season finale looking to gain some momentum for the up-coming conference tournament. Mission accomplished as the Pilots played perhaps their most complete game of the season in routing the Cougars 95-68. The win was the third in a row, and the eighth in the last nine contests for the Pilots who raised their season record to 25-5 and 12-4 in MCC play � good for a second place finish in the conference standings.

The game began with the Cougars jumping out to an early 14-9 lead before the Pilots went on a 17-6 spurt to go ahead 26-20. St. Francis answered by cutting the margin to a single point at 28-27 with about 8:00 remaining in the period. That�s when the Pilots went to work using a huge 17-2 run to take control of the game 45-29 late in the half. And when Bethel�s Ryne Lightfoot connected on a 15 foot bucket at the horn, the Pilots went to the break with an impressive 53-34 advantage.

The second half began with Bethel converting the first four points to increase the margin to 57-34 before the Cougars mounted a bit of a comeback effort. Using a 12-4 run, St. Francis cut the difference to fifteen at 61-46. However, the Pilots never allowed the margin to get any closer as they out-scored USF 16-7 over the next few minutes to take a 77-53 lead heading into the game�s final 10:00 of action. As time ran down, Bethel senior, Derek Moser capped the Pilot scoring for the day with a field goal making the final score 95-68.

The Bethel offensive and defensive efforts were equally outstanding in this contest. Leading the Pilots was Ryne Lightfoot who tallied 21 points to go with 6 assists for the game. As a result, Ryne went over the 2,000 point mark in his career, now with 2,011. Caleb Laidig likewise turned in a stellar performance with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals. Tyler Brown contributed 18 points and 4 assists while Tony Benford chipped in with 13 points and 2 assists. In addition, Wes Laidig tallied 8 points, and Jordan Bowerman had a solid game for the Pilots with 6 points and 6 boards.

As a team, the Pilots were excellent in several areas. From the field, Bethel connected on a blistering 61% of their shots while holding the Cougars to just 35% shooting. From behind the three-point arc, Bethel hit on 5 of 9 attempts for 56% while the Cougars managed just 17% from long range (4 for 23). From the charity stripe, the Pilots were good on 22 of 27 attempts (82%) and won the rebounding battle 40-27.

�This was a great way for our seniors to end the regular season,� stated Bethel head coach, Mike Lightfoot. �The guys played very well and we needed some quality minutes from our bench. Jordan Bowerman played a great game and stepped in nicely for an injured Wes Laidig. It was fun to watch us play today.�

The 2010 MCC Tournament gets underway on Wednesday night, February 24th when the Pilots (the number two seed) will host the Marian University Knights at 7:00 pm in the Wiekamp Athletic Center.

Bethel vs. St. Francis