No. 10 Bethel Pulls Away Late in Defensive Battle

UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor flirted with another win over a NAIA Top-25 foe, this time going nose-to-nose with visiting No. 10 Bethel inside Odle Arena before the guests pulled away late for a 74-62 win.

The Trojans battled the Pilots (16-3, 9-0 CL) to a three point game at the half, but BU clamped down on the defensive end over the final 20 minutes. During the decisive second half, Taylor scored just 28 points on 29.0-percent shooting.

TU led throughout the majority of the opening stanza however, and opened a 26-18 lead on a dunk from Anton Webb.

Bethel responded by closing the half on a 19-8 charge to take a three-point lead to the break and the two teams remained locked in a tight affair until the final minutes.

Another Webb hoop gave Taylor a 40-39 lead and a triple from Izaiah Day put the Trojans on top by a 49-47 edge midway through the second half.

The defensive struggle continued to keep the score close between the two sides until a trey from BU put Taylor in a seven-point deficit with just over five minutes to play and the Pilots took control from there to seal the win.

Jackson Ullom had the hot hand early and finished with 11 points on three-of-five shooting from beyond the arc, while adding three assists and two steals.

Nate Paarlberg drilled each of his three looks from deep to end with 11 points and Pete Combs added nine off the bench.

Webb posted a team-high 13 points to go with six rebounds and two steals and now sits just 24 points shy of reaching 1,000 in a Taylor uniform.

Taylor (11-8, 4-5 CL) will return to action on Saturday, January 25, to host RV Saint Francis (13-6, 6-3 CL) in a 3:00 pm start.