OMAHA, Neb. – The University of Providence men's basketball team lost a tightly contested game to Bethel (Ind.) 85-81 in the second round of the NAIA National Tournament Saturday night. 

The Argos had an 11-point lead with six minutes left in the game, but the Pilots went on a 12-2 run to cut the lead to one. With the game tied at 79, Jared DeHard hit a three off the assist from TreVion Crews to give the Pilots a three-point lead with 22 seconds left. After a quick two from Zaccheus Darko-Kelly, the Argos were forced to foul. The Pilots made both free throws to extend the lead to three with nine seconds left, but the Argos turned the ball over with five seconds remaining to seal the game.

"We had the game in control and we just let it slip away the last five minutes or so," head coach Steve Keller said. "Give them credit. They didn't lay down. We still could have survived it. We had too many turnovers. We didn't get to the free throw line very much. That's our game."

Davien Harris-Williams led the Argos with 23 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists. Darko-Kelly scored 18 points and 14 rebounds while Marcus Stephens also added 18 points. For the Pilots, TreVion Crews led all scorers with 39 points. Jared DeHart finished with 15 points and Nathan Aerts finished with 13.

"Crews scored 39," Keller said. "We just didn't do a good enough job on him. He made some tough shots. He's a great player."

As a team, the Argos outrebounded the Pilots 43-33. They shot 45.8% from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arc, compared to the Pilots 42.3% from the three-point land. The Argos also committed 19 turnovers. 

"All the stats will tell you is that it doesn't matter," Keller said. "We didn't get a win. We just didn't do a good enough job defensively. I think we turned it over too much."

Despite the loss, Keller and the coaching staff are still proud of the adversity the team overcame this season. From starting three months after every other team in the conference, the Argos cruised to both a regular season championship and a Frontier Conference Playoffs Championship.

"We had a great season," Keller said. "For starting in December. Everybody is disappointed. It is what it is. You just have to move on and improve."