No. 4 IU East beats No. 5 Bethel (Ind.) in OT thriller, 83-81
No. 4 IU East beats No. 5 Bethel (Ind.) in OT thriller, 83-81
By IU East Sports Information
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Bishop Smith's basket with three seconds remaining in overtime capped a comeback from a 13-point deficit and lifted the Indiana University East men's basketball team to an 83-81 win against Bethel College (Ind.) in the first round of the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship on March 6.
IU East, the No. 4 seed in the tournament's "Liston Bracket," advances to face No. 8 seed University of Saint Francis (Ill.) in the Round of 16 on March 8. Saint Francis surprised top-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan University by a 74-70 score following the IU East-Bethel game.
IU East (25-8) advanced to the Round of 16 at the national tournament for the fourth consecutive season. Bethel, the No. 5 seed in the "Liston Bracket," finishes 21-11.
KEY MOMENTS
* Aaron Thomas' sixth block of the game with the score tied at 81 and the final seconds of overtime ticking away instantly turned into a two-on-one fast break for IU East. Garrett Silcott collected the rebound on the run and fed Bishop Smith cutting down the left side of the lane for a layup and an 83-81 lead with three seconds remaining. IU East's defense then forced Bethel to take a contested shot near midcourt at the buzzer, which fell short.
* Aaron Thomas' acrobatic tip-in on a feed from Jaylen McKay tied it at 73 with seven seconds remaining in regulation. IU East had trailed 60-47 with 10:35 to go.
* After falling behind by 13 points, IU East immediately answered with an 11-1 run that got the Red Wolves within 61-58 and set the stage for the close finish.
* IU East led for most of the first half. The Red Wolves jumped ahead 10-2 and held a 19-6 advantage in the early moments. Bethel gradually chipped away at the IU East lead throughout the opening half. A broken play that turned into a Bethel layup resulted in a 39-39 score at halftime.
TRENDING
* IU East came back from a double-digit deficit in the second half against Bethel for the second time this season. The Red Wolves rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat the Pilots by a 79-77 score on Nov. 17.
* Jaylen McKay scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half to keep IU East in front throughout the first 20 minutes.
* Aaron Thomas had 17 of his 21 points and 12 of his 14 rebounds in the second half. His six blocks matched his season high.
* Bishop Smith, who also hit a go-ahead 3-pointer early in the overtime, finished with 14 points to extend his string of consecutive games in double digits to 36.
* IU East forced Bethel into 18 turnovers - the most for the Pilots against any NAIA opponent this season.
* Trevion Crews was magnificent in defeat for Bethel with 25 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists. Paul Forman was Crews' interior complement with 23 points.
* Indiana Wesleyan and Cornerstone are the only other schools at the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship with a chance to join IU East with at least four consecutive Round of 16 appearances.
QUOTABLE
"I saw Aaron deflect the shot like he normally does, and I knew I had to run the floor hard and hopefully get an easy layup." - Bishop Smith on the game-winning basket
"I remember our freshman year (at the national tournament), the biggest thing was to win a game, because the program hadn't done that. From then out, it was, 'Why not go further?' And we've continued to do that. It's fun to get one game at the national tournament, but we're not here to get just one game." - Aaron Thomas, who will finish his career with a 4-0 record in first-round games at the national tournament
"When we were down, we were doing a lot of things wrong. When we came out of the timeout (down 60-47), it was 'Run the things we worked on, and we'll get back into the game.' And we did." - Jaylen McKay on the comeback from a 13-point deficit in the second half.
UP NEXT
IU East faces Saint Francis (Ill.) in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship Round of 16 on March 8 at 11:15 a.m. (IU East time).