Last-Second Shot Sinks No. 24 Taylor Against No. 10 Bethel

UPLAND, Ind. – A three-pointer by Luke McBride with 3.6 seconds remaining sunk No. 24 Taylor (16-6, 8-4 CL) to a 78-75 loss in an intense back-and-forth matchup against No. 10 Bethel (19-3, 9-3 CL) inside Odle Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Taylor trailed by three with 22 seconds left before freshman point guard Carson Gould drove in and converted and and-one with 10 seconds left to level the score at 75. McBride then took the ball up and seemed to get in position to call a timeout before pulling up from way beyond the arc and splashing home the game-winner.

A last-ditch heave fell into the hands of Bethel to deny Taylor a chance to send it to overtime.

The Trojans started the game by nailing their first five shots, from four different players, all from three-point land to build an early 15-4 advantage and force a timeout from the visitors.

The Pilots responded with a 9-1 run to close the gap to three over the next four minutes as Taylor struggled to score. Anthony McGhee converted a layup to spark baskets on three of the next four possessions to push the lead to 22-17.

Bethel took its first lead of he game at 26-25 following a pair of buckets, but Izaiah Day knocked down a triple off an offensive rebound and pass by Nathan Baker, who led the team with nine boards, to take the lead back for TU.

Taylor led the rest of the way and went into halftime with a 43-35 lead after TJ Davidson hit a pair of shots from the charity stripe to cap seven first-half points of the bench for the freshman.

The rhythm of the game was lost quickly in the second half as the teams combined for ten fouls in the first four minutes and 25 total after the break.

Neither team led by more than four points for the final 18 minutes of action as the Pilots knotted the score at 48 apiece after a free throw and took their first second-half lead shortly after at 51-50.

The teams traded baskets, free throws, timeouts, and the lead for the rest of the way to set up the frantic finish inside Odle Arena.

Free throw shooting and rebounding in the second half doomed Taylor to defeat as the Trojans got outrebounded 28-18 in the second stanza and shot 7-13 from the charity stripe.

Nate Paarlberg matched Day with a team-high 14 points as the senior forward shot a perfect 5-5 from the field and 3-3 from beyond the arc. Baker added ten points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two blocks off the bench.

No. 24 Taylor continues Crossroads League play on the road against Goshen (8-14, 1-11 CL), who is coming off its first win in CL action this year, on Wednesday, February 4th, with tip scheduled for 7:30 pm.