MARION, Ind. -- The streak lives on as No. 5-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University men's basketball weathered a rough start in a 70-61 victory over visiting Bethel (Ind.) College on Saturday afternoon in Luckey Arena.

The program record win streak grows to 19 wins in a row as Indiana Wesleyan has not lost since November 13, 2010 to then No. 4-ranked Cornerstone (Mich.) University.

Bethel erupted out of the gate for a 15-4 lead that would stretch into a 23-10 advantage at the midway point of the first half. BC was hitting from all parts of the floor and had Indiana Wesleyan on their heels.

Wildcat senior forward Will Hubertz changed the tide of the game with 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to bring life to a ?White Out' packed Luckey Arena. Hubertz' bombs ignited a 14-2 run for the Wildcats that closed the deficit to 25-24 with 7:22 in the half.

Bethel rallied with a small 8-2 spurt to extend their advantage back to seven points (33-26). But Indiana Wesleyan stormed back once again with 12 of the last 14 points of the half to capture a 38-35 lead at halftime.

"I think our guys were a little too excited early in the game," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Greg Tonagel. "But they were able to settle down and regroup."

Hubertz and freshman guard Jordan Weidner carried the load in the opening half and helped keep the Wildcats close in the rough opening 10 minutes. Hubertz had 15 points and was 3-of-6 from deep while Weidner added 10 points.

Bethel led 45-42 in the early portions of the second half before Indiana Wesleyan went to work.

Offensively, IWU scored the next 13 points to quickly take a 55-45 advantage with 8:11 remaining. During the run, Indiana Wesleyan went down low to sophomore forward Patrick Hopkins who was repeatedly sent to the foul line. He hit 5-of-6 free throws in the stretch and had seven points total in the four minute stretch.

Defensively, Indiana Wesleyan held Bethel scoreless for over six and a half minutes and it was nearly 10 minutes between Bethel field goals. Bethel guard Ryan Benner hit the 3-pointer to put BC up 45-42 with 13:16 remaining. The next Bethel point came when senior forward Caleb Laidig hit one of two free throws with 6:39 to go. The next field goal came again from Benner as 3:42 was in the game.

Indiana Wesleyan continued to take it to Bethel and extended the lead to a game-high 15 points at 65-50 with 2:22 to play.

The Pilots received a trio of 3-pointers from guard Steve Ward in a span of 41 seconds, the last coming with 43 seconds on the clock, to make it interesting. Sophomore guard Aaron Martin hit a pair of free throws after Bethel purposely fouled to cement the win.

"I think the key to the game was that we committed just three turnovers in the second half," said Tonagel. "We kept possession and had some guys step up."

One of those players was junior guard David Peters, who played a career-high 29 minutes off the bench. He earned the major minutes with starting point guard Derrick Troyer out of action for the second straight game due to injury. Peters tied a career-high with four assists and had no turnovers.

"David played the best game of his career," added Tonagel. "He earned a chance to play today and competed well. He just continually plays hard."

Martin also has stepped up his play as of late and led all players with 18 points. He pulled down a career-best nine rebounds and added a pair of assists.

Hubertz finished with 17 points, Weidner had 15 and Hopkins added 11 points, five rebounds and three assists. Sophomore forward George Jones IV added nine points.

Defensively, Indiana Wesleyan limited Bethel to 35.9-percent (23 of 64) shooting and forced BC into 20 turnovers. Bethel received only 37 points from their five starters while the team shot 33.3-percent (6 of 18) from the foul line.

"It was a gutsy performance today," said Tonagel. "I'm really proud of them."

The win streak will survive another full week as Indiana Wesleyan has the bye during Tuesday's conference action. IWU will travel to No. 22-ranked Huntington (Ind.) University on Saturday, February 5 in search of their 20th straight win. Tip-off will be at 3 p.m.

Click here for box score