Lourdes rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to pull even with Bethel (Ind.) with 10 minutes to play on Saturday evening, but was never able to forge in front and suffered an 87-81 setback to the Pilots inside Wiekamp Athletic Center in Mishawaka, Ind. on the final day of the Bethel Tip-Off Classic.
 
"I thought we made some adjustments after last night and played a much better game tonight," head coach Dennis Hopson said afterwards.  "We made some mistakes late and turned the ball over a few times and they made some threes.  We saw some things we can build upon though after playing two great teams this weekend."
 
The Gray Wolves fell behind 10-2 less than three minutes into the game before an 11-0 run over the next two minutes put Lourdes in front.  The Pilots responded with another 9-0 spurt of their own, taking a lead and they would not trail the rest of the way.
 
The Pilots shot 50% in the opening half and made 8-of-16 from three-point range on the way to building a 46-39 lead at the break.  An eight-point run early in the second half allowed Bethel to open up a 15-point advantage, 56-41, with just over 16 minutes to play before Lourdes when on its run.
 
The Gray Wolves held the Pilots scoreless from the field for nearly seven minutes as part of a 14-0 run, tying the game on a Nick Welch (Temperance, Mich./Saint Mary Catholic Central H.S.) three-point play at the 10:27 mark.  Lourdes had two chances on the subsequent possession to take the lead but were unable to do so and Bethel responded with five straight points to retake the lead for good. 
 
A Clif Snow (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown H.S.) triple with just over four minutes to play brought Lourdes back within one, 72-71, but Bethel scored on its next possession and Lourdes never had the ball in a one-possession game the rest of the way.
 
Snow led Lourdes with 22 points while Welch tallied a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds to go along with a team-high five assists.  McRay White (Cleveland, Ohio/Garfield Heights H.S.) scored 12 points off the bench while Mike Bruce (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti H.S.) finished in double figures for the second consecutive games with 11 points.
 
Lourdes shot 41.8% from the floor but just 30.3% (10-of-33) from three-point range while Bethel connected at a 50% clip from both inside and outside the arc while making 13 triples.  Lourdes shot 88.2% from the free throw line to keep the game close.
 
Zac Owens led Bethel (2-0) with 27 points while TreVion Crews added 25 more.
 
Lourdes (0-2) will return to the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center next Saturday, Nov. 7 for the Gray Wolves home opener.  Tip-off against Ohio Christian is set for 3 p.m.