Men's basketball nets overtime win at Case Western Reserve, 86-82

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

CLEVELAND (Dec. 29) - Led by four players in double-figures, the Bison advanced to the championship of the Bill Sudeck Tournament with an 86-82 overtime win against Case Western Reserve Thursday night.

The Bison improve to 6-4 overall and will play SUNY-Geneseo in the championship game tomorrow, Friday, December 30 at 4 p.m. Meanwhile, the host Spartans fall to 3-5 this season.

Junior guard Calique Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) tallied a game-high 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting (53 percent) from the field, while freshman forward Chaice Truex (Wheeling, W.Va./St. John Central) added 17 points and six boards off of the bench. Senior guard Antonio Rudolph registered a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds (three offensive) and junior forward Liam Davis (Orlando, Fla./Orlando Christian) rounded out double-digit scorers with 12 points and eight boards.

The two teams were even at 28-28 over the opening 17 minutes of the game, with neither team leading by more than six points at any time. Jones helped the Bison take the edge into the break, scoring five points and propelling Bethany to a 10-3 run over the final three minutes of the half to give them a 36-31 lead.

Case Western Reserve surged past the Bison out of the locker rooms. The hosts went on a 12-2 run over the first four minutes of the second half to take a 43-38 advantage.

The Spartans eventually pushed their lead to 11, 60-49, with 10:33 remaining in the game, before  Bethany mounted a comeback. The Green & White out-scored Case Western Reserve 21-6 over the next 10 minutes, capped off by a Rudolph layup, which gave the Bison a 70-68 lead with 44 seconds left in the game. It was the first lead for Bethany since the 18:17 mark of the second half.

Case Western Reserve drained a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left in the contest to even the score at 70-70, leaving Bethany a chance to win the game in regulation, but a missed shot by Davis at the horn sent the game into the extra session.

The Spartans scored the first four points of overtime, before the Bison rallied back. A Jones layup-and-one helped give Bethany a 79-77 lead with 1:12 on the clock. Back-to-back blocked shots by Davis and a third block by Jones helped keep the Bison ahead with under 40 seconds on the clock. The Green & White converted seven of eight attempts from the free-throw line to close out the game and secure the 86-82 win and a berth in the title game.  

The Bison ended the game shooting 31-for-65 (48 percent) from the field, while the Spartans finished the evening shooting 26-for-59 (44 percent). Case converted 11 three-point attempts, compared to the Green & White who only made four from beyond-the-arc.

Bethany converted 20-for-25 (80 percent) from the free-throw line, compared to the 19-for-30 (63 percent) posted by Case Western Reserve.

Case Western Reserve's Colin Zucker posted 23 points on a perfect 6-for-6 from long range to lead the Spartans.

Bethany will play SUNY-Geneseo in the championship game tomorrow, Friday, December 30 at 4 p.m. SUNY-Geneseo advanced with a 94-66 win over Centre (Kentucky) in the other tournament game. Live stats and live video links are now available on the men's basketball schedule page.