Red Wolves - IU East

MISHAWAKA - The Red Wolves walked into the Bethel College Gates Automotive Classic and were greeting by the sound of the Pilots' student section singing "Silent Night."

They left the tournament to the sweet sound of silence after quieting an enthusiastic home crowd with a clutch win.

Matt Trimnell scored a career-high 35 points and David Sanders hit a shot in the lane with less than three seconds remaining to lift the Indiana University East basketball team to a 94-92 overtime win at Bethel College on the final day of the Bethel College Gates Automotive Classic on Dec. 11.

The 20th-ranked Red Wolves improved to 10-3. The 35th-ranked Pilots fell to 9-6.

Sanders' shot silenced the Pilot fans sitting in the shadows of Bethel's three NAIA Division II national championship banners.

"I was right behind him, and I knew he was shooting it and I knew it was going in," Trimnell said. "I was already screaming and yelling."

Red Wolves coach Mark Hester called it IU East's "signature win." IU East's only previous win against a top-35 team was against then-No. 3 Indiana University Southeast in the 2009-10 season finale when the Grenadiers' lineup was decimated by suspensions.

"The best win we've ever had by far," Hester said. "To walk around and see the tradition here and the national championships they've won, to come out here on this floor and win is really big."

IU East improved to 3-0 in road games and 3-0 in overtime games this season.

It appeared the Red Wolves wouldn't need any late-game dramatics for most of the afternoon.

IU East zoomed ahead by 11 with a 7-0 win the last 90 seconds of the first half.

The Red Wolves led by 12 in the second half and still led by seven with two minutes remaining.

Trimnell did most of the damage, making 11 of 18 shots, including six 3-pointers.

"I just took what they gave me, and when I was shooting it felt like I was shooting into the ocean," said Trimnell, who even banked in a 3-pointer with a Pilot in his face early in the second half.

"Then when they keyed on me I just hit the open guy and let them score."

Bethel forced the overtime with an 8-1 run in the last 2:15 of regulation. Bethel standout Caleb Laidig hit two free throws with seven seconds left to force the extra session.

The Pilots then scored the first five points of the overtime, but Trimnell answered with five straight points of his own to set the stage for the dramatic finish.

"(Bethel) is such a good low-post team and has such a rich tradition that you knew they were going to come back," Hester said. "I was very concerned when they got up five, but we came back and played well.

"My thoughts were that we had to get stops and chip away because there is no such thing as a five-point basket, and that's what we did."

Sanders actually hit two go ahead-shots in the last 20 seconds of regulation. Sanders scored at the basket with 20 seconds to go to put IU East ahead 92-90.

Laidig tied it one last time for Bethel, but the Pilots didn't have time to answer Sanders' last shot.

"Dave knows what to do and where we're going in that situation," Hester said. "That's why he was able to break them down off the dribble and get a good look."

Trimnell was voted tournament MVP by his teammates. Senior guard Brent Burris (Indianapolis, Ind./Home School) joined him on the all-tournament team.

Burris scored 10 points against Bethel and averaged 17.5 points per game for the tournament.

Sanders finished with 19 points against Bethel.

Laidig led the Pilots with 22 points.

The Red Wolves return to action Dec. 17 against No. 19 Grace College in the opening round of the Malone University Canton Comfort Inn Tournament.

Click here for the IU East-Bethel box score