2012-13 BETHEL COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL
2007 NCCAA 2006-07 SEASON RESULTS DATE
OPPONENT
RESULT
Oct. 31 @ PU Calumet Nov. 3 @ King Nov. 4 Tenn. Wesleyan Nov. 10 Aquinas Nov. 11 IU Northwest Nov. 14 IU South Bend Nov. 18 @ St. Xavier Nov. 21 Taylor * Nov. 28 @ Marian * Dec. 2 @ Huntington * Dec. 4 @ Madonna Dec. 8 Calumet Dec. 9 Trinity Int’l Dec. 12 Indiana Tech Dec. 20 @ IU South Bend Dec. 28 @ Savannah A&D Dec. 29 Emmanuel Jan. 3 Goshen * Jan. 6 @ Ind. Wesleyan * Jan. 9 @ St. Francis Ind. * Jan. 13 Grace * Jan. 16 @ Spring Arbor * Jan. 20 @ Taylor * Jan. 23 Marian * Jan. 27 Huntington * Feb. 3 @ Goshen * Feb. 6 Ind. Wesleyan * Feb. 10 St. Francis Ind. * Feb. 13 @ Grace * Feb. 17 Spring Arbor * Feb. 21 @ Grace Mar. 2 Bethany Lutheran Mar. 3 @ Northwestern Mar. 15 @ Oakland City Mar. 16 Emmanuel Mar. 17 Grace * MCC game
OVR: 21-15; MCC: 6-10
W L L W W W L W L L W W W L W W W W L W L L L W L W L L W L L W W W W W
SCORE
81-75 69-76 93-94 95-79 90-58 92-75 79-90 85-81 74-81 85-93 91-69 84-77 100-93 ot 90-92 79-77 99-88 79-78 78-66 58-93 70-63 82-86 69-72 65-77 84-56 72-83 71-65 76-79 ot 88-99 73-71 92-98 76-82 ot 91-78 96-95 2 ot 91-84 84-70 90-81 ot
The theme all season had been “Band of Brothers” for the 2006-07 Pilots. With the collective heart of a champion, the Pilots brought home their fourth NCCAA national championship by downing Grace in an classic battle, 90-81 in overtime. The championship contest, which featured 14 ties and 13 lead changes, began with the Lancers building an early 18-14 lead. The Pilots then went on a 16-7 run to grab a 30-25 advantage late in the first period. However, a three-point bucket from grace’s Tyler Leighton knotted the score at 33 at the intermission. The second half began with both squads trading baskets in the early going, before the Pilots struck with an impressive 16-6 run, capped by a Jon Zeser three-point basket, taking a 60-50 lead. However, Grace answered with a 15-2 spurt to retake the lead at 65-62 with just under eight minutes remaining. But the Pilots kept their poise and used a 9-6 run to tie the contest at 71 with under a minute left. A Lancer miss and a Pilot rebound led to a William Walker basket, giving the Pilots a 73-71 lead. With time winding down, Grace chose to go for the win, and Marcus Moore’s three-point attempt was off the mark, but a foul was whistled on Jon Zeser with 3.4 seconds remaining. With an opportunity to put Grace on top, Moore missed his first of three free throws but converted on his final two to knot the score at 73. A desparation shot by Bethel missed its mark and the championship game headed to overtime.
84
In the extra period, Bethel took control early by scoring the first two baskets for a 77-73 lead. The Lancers responded and trimmed the margin to 79-77 with under two minutes remaining. That’s when Bethel’s Tyler Brown sank the crucial three-point bucket from the deep right corner to give the Pilots an 8277 lead. Grace was forced to foul the rest of the way, and the Pilots went 6-for-6 from the line to preserve the margin. With eight seconds left in the contest, a final three point effort from the Lancers failed, leading to a breakaway dunk by Mark Lettinga at the buzzer, putting an exclamation point on the Pilot championship victory. Mark Lettinga led the way with 25 points and 12 rebounds in 41 minutes of action. Tyler Brown was next with 23 points (17 in the second half) and 9 rebounds, playing all 45 minutes. William Walker turned in another huge effort, tallying 22 points and 11 rebounds to go with 5 assists in 43 minutes. Pilot guard Jon Zeser contributed 12 points and 4 assists, and didn’t turn the ball over playing all 45 minutes. Ryne Lightfoot, playing on a severely sprained ankle suffered in the first round game two nights before, managed to log 23 minutes of action, scoring 5 points, including 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the extra period.