MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- The Crossroads League men’s basketball season opened tonight and the top-10 showdown between No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan and No. 10 Bethel (Ind.) in Mishawaka highlighted the slate.

Indiana Wesleyan earned the comeback victory on the road by a 78-73 score. Indiana Wesleyan remains undefeated on the season at 9-0 while Bethel suffers their first setback and is 9-1.

Bethel scored on their first possession and did not surrender the lead the rest of the half. They often led by double digits, including a first half high of 13 points with less than one minute before halftime. Nate Bubash scored at the buzzer and was fouled and he hit the free throw to make it a 46-36 score at the break.

The Pilots shot a blistering 63.0-percent (17 of 27) in the opening frame and 53.8-percent (7 of 13) from 3-point range.

Indiana Wesleyan slowly cut into the Bethel lead through the first seven minutes of the second half. A Bob Peters (SO/Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) bucket with 12:36 left put Indiana Wesleyan in the lead for the first time all night at 56-55.

The Pilots regained the lead and held a 63-59 advantage at the midway point of the half. That is when the Wildcats made their move and went on a 14-4 run. Lane Mahurin (SO/Rockville, Ind.) scored to finish the run to give the Wildcats a 73-67 lead with 4:55 to go.

Bethel cut the lead to 73-71 at 2:52 when Matt Schauss hit a pair of free throws. Over the next two plus minutes each team had two possessions but came up empty. Indiana Wesleyan had the ball and Jonny Marlin (JR/Greenwood, Ind.) hit a clutch field goal with 34 seconds remaining to give IWU the 75-71 lead. Clay Yeo turned the ball over on the ensuing possession as Lane Mahurin earned a steal. Bethel fouled Marlin with 14 seconds left and the junior guard hit both free throws for the 77-71 lead to ice the victory for IWU.

Marlin led Indiana Wesleyan with a double-double with 21 points and 11 assists. He also had six rebounds and two steals. Bob Peters scored 14 points off the bench while DJ Bettinger (SR/Richfield, Ohio) added 13 points and Mahurin finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Bettinger hit 4-of-6 from 3-point range while Bubash contributed eight points and seven boards.

Indiana Wesleyan outscored Bethel 42-27 during the second half. Indiana Wesleyan finished the half at 50.0-percent (15 of 30) shooting while Bethel was limited to 29.6-percent (8 of 27). Overall, Indiana Wesleyan shot 47.5-percent (28 of 59) for the game and 43.5-percent (10 of 23) from beyond the arc.

Indiana Wesleyan returns to action next Tuesday, December 2 as IWU hosts Grace (Ind.) at 7 p.m. in Luckey Arena.