DeHart, Piercefield to battle in NAIA tourney

<p>At some point early this evening, Jared DeHart and Spencer Piercefield will make eye contact and exchange nods from afar as a way of wishing the other good luck.</p><p>Just call it what it is — a pair of former Johnson County basketball players some 500 miles from home doing whatever is necessary to help lead their respective teams to an NAIA national championship.</p><p>Tonight at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, 16th-seeded Bethel (22-10), led by former Indian Creek standout DeHart, faces No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan (30-2), which includes Center Grove grad Piercefield in its lineup.</p><p>Both guards are capable of playing either the point or the 2, meaning they’ll soon see plenty of the other up close.</p><p>“We’ve always had good battles since high school, but his team seems to always come out on top,” said DeHart, who averages 14.3 points for the Pilots and has scored in double figures in all but one of Bethel’s last 18 games. “Spencer is a super smart player who doesn’t turn the ball over.</p><p>“With him, the emphasis is not to give him any open looks, and he’s a good defender, too. Our teams are similar. We’re a little more up-pace, but they can play that way too, and their half-court offense is very good.”</p><p>Tonight marks the third time the teams have played this season. Indiana Wesleyan defeated Bethel, 95-92, in November, and again last month, 103-83. DeHart scored eight and 12 points in those games, respectively, going a combined 6 of 18 from the floor.</p><p>Nevertheless, Piercefield is aware that DeHart is more than capable of busting loose for a big game — the former Brave has scored 20 or more points on seven occasions this season.</p><p>“It’s a lot of fun to play against him,” said Piercefield, who has started six games this season and could be in the lineup tonight depending on the status of teammate Noah Smith, who has been battling a knee injury. “Jared’s off-the-dribble game is one of the best I’ve played against, and he can get hot in the blink of an eye.</p><p>“If you have even a little bit of separation, he’ll rise up and hit the jumper.”</p><p>Whichever team prevails tonight returns Saturday to face the winner of the Stillman-St. Francis contest in the quarterfinals.</p><p>Forward Jeffrey Reynolds is enjoying an outstanding junior season for St. Francis (25-8), as the former Greenwood standout averages eight points and 4.9 rebounds off the bench. A fourth team from Indiana, sixth-seeded Marian, is in the opposite bracket and would only face IWU, Bethel or St. Francis in the championship game.</p><p>All four are members of the Crossroads League, a 10-member conference comprised of private colleges in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.</p><p>“We call it The Gauntlet,” DeHart said, laughing. “It’s a battle every night.”</p><p>Bethel qualified for the nationals two years ago in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but lost to IU East in the opening round, 83-81, in overtime. They made the NAIA’s final 16 this season by scoring four-point victories last week over Texas A&amp;amp;M-Texarkana and the University of Providence at DJ Sokol Arena in Omaha, Nebraska. DeHart tallied 11 points against A&amp;amp;M and 15 in the win against Providence.</p><p>There was no NAIA national men’s basketball tournament tournament last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, Piercefield is confident that life in the Crossroads League has prepared all four of its national qualifiers well.</p><p>“It’s cool to see how many teams from our conference got there,” Piercefield said. “It will be a fun game against Bethel. Super competitive like it always is. It doesn’t matter who you play in the league; everyone is good and you gave to bring your ‘A’ game.”</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="Tonight’s matchup" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><strong>Round of 16</strong></p><p>Bethel (22-10) vs. Indiana Wesleyan (30-2), 8:30 p.m.</p><p>Webstream: <a href="http://portal.stretchinternet.com/naia">portal.stretchinternet.com/naia</a></p>[sc:pullout-text-end]