Bison Men's Basketball Stumbles Against Thomas More
Jan. 6 – BETHANY, W. Va. – The Bethany College men's basketball team nearly pulled off a come-from-behind victory, but fell short of the mark, dropping a 62-57 decision to Thomas More College in Presidents' Athletic Conference play on Wednesday evening.
The visiting Saints took the lead early in the game and never trailed, pushing out to a seven-point advantage (9-2) in the first four minutes. Daniel Williams posted seven points during the run for Thomas More, including a four-point play to stake the Saints to the early lead.
The Green & White would fight back, closing the gap to 15-10 at the 10:09 mark on a basket by Jerron Athey (Richmond, Va./Banner Christian). Athey would help keep the Bison close early, scoring six of the team's first 13 points.
Thomas More would respond, using an 11-3 run to widen the gap to 13 points (26-13) with just over four minutes remaining in the first half. The Saints hit three from deep in the run, including triples from three separate players.
Still trailing by double figures (31-20) in the final two minutes, Athey would once again help keep the Bison within striking distance. He first knocked down a pair of free-throws, before sinking a three with 13 ticks remaining on the clock, diminishing the Saint lead to six at the half time break, 31-26.
The sophomore guard finished the first half just one point shy of his career high, as her tallied 13 points on an efficient 5-of-5 from the field.
The second half was more of the same as Thomas More continued to keep the Bison at bay with timely three-point shooting. Back-to-back baskets with 5:40 remaining pushed the lead to its biggest of the game, 59-44, but Bethany would have time for one more run.
Using lock-down defense, the Bison did not allow the Saints to convert on a single shot from the field over the final five minutes of the game. An Athey jumper would start a 13-3 run which saw the Bison pull within five points with eight seconds to play, 60-55.
However, time would run out on the comeback, as timely free-throw conversions by the Saints kept the Bison trailing until the final buzzer, handing Bethany the 62-57 defeat.
Athey led the Bison all night, finishing just one point off the game-high which was turned in by the Saints' Daniel Williams (18). The sophomore tallied a career-high 17 points, shooting 7-of-8 from the field. He also added four rebounds and led the team with three steals.
Other offensive leaders for the Bison included Javonte' Trujillo (Aurora, Colo./Grandview), who finished with nine points on a trio of three-point baskets. Liam Davis (Orlando, Fla./Orland Christian Prep), Antonio Rudolph (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) and Alan Harper (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) all tallied six points, each.
The Green & White played well defensively in the game, holding the Saints to just 39 percent shooting from the field. The difference in the game came from beyond the three-point arc, where Thomas More outscored the Bison by 15 points. The Saints shot 12-of-29 from deep, while converting on just 11 shots inside the arc.
Bethany will be back in action on Saturday, January 9, as they play host to Waynesburg University. The conference matchup is scheduled to follow the women's game which starts at 2 p.m.
