Rudolph Leads Bethany Men's Basketball Past Bryn Athyn
Dec. 29- ASHLAND, Va. – The Bethany College men's basketball team never trailed as they coasted to an 86-72 victory over Bryn Athyn College on Tuesday evening. Junior Antonio Rudolph (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) dominated from the opening tip, posting career highs in points (26) and rebounds (15).
Rudolph helped Bethany (6-4) jump out to an 8-0 advantage, scoring six points during the run. The junior guard totaled 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting during the half.
A three from Javonte Trujillo (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) with 15:28 remaining gave the Bison an early double-digit lead (14-4).
The Lions (0-7) managed to cut the deficit to two (16-14) at the 12:34 mark before Bethany caught fire from the field.
Bethany scored on four straight possessions, including triples from Trujillo, Alan Harper (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic), and Jerron Athey (Richmond, Va./Banner Christian). The Bison finished 9-of-22 (41%) from beyond the arc in the game, including seven threes in the first half.
Calique Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) then finished strong at the rim for a three-point play and Harper knocked down another three late in the opening period to give the Bison a 19-point lead at the intermission.
Bethany continued their efficiency on the offensive end in the second half, shooting 54% (34-of-63) from the field in the contest. The Green & White also outrebounded Bryn Athyn (40-27) and never led by less than 12 in the second half.
Four different Bison scored in double figures, led by Rudolph's 26. Rudolph notched his third double-double of the season with a season-high 15 rebounds, as well as five assists and three steals.
Athey ran the offense late, leading Bethany with 11 points and two steals in the second half en route to a career-high 14 points. Harper scored in double-digits for the fourth consecutive game as he added 12 off the bench.
Andrew Williams (Oil City, Pa./Oil City) scored 10 points and Nick Metz (Pittsburgh, Pa./OLSH) posted nine rebounds.
The Bison will return to action on Saturday, January 2 as they take on Chatham at 3:00 p.m.
