Men’s Basketball holds off Saint Vincent, 72-66

Steve Janik, Assistant Sports Information Director

LATROBE, Pa. (Jan. 5) - The Bethany College men's basketball team held off a late rally to defeat Saint Vincent 72-66 in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup Thursday night.

Bethany improves to 7-5 this season, 2-3 in league play. Meanwhile, Saint Vincent, the four-time defending PAC Tournament Champions, drop to 4-1 in the PAC, 8-4 overall.

Junior guard Calique Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) lead the Bison with 22 points to go with seven rebounds. Senior guard Antonio Rudolph (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) followed with 13 points, while freshman forward Chaice Truex (Wheeling, W.Va./St. John Central (Ohio)) and junior guard Andrew Williams (Oil City, Pa./Oil City) contributed 12 and 10, respectively. 

The two teams traded baskets in the early minutes of the game until a Liam Davis (Orlando, Fla./Orlando Christian) put-back gave the Bison a 13-9 lead with 16:25 to play in the first half.

The Bison gained a 19-13 lead on a Jones jumper the 10:15 mark, before the host Saint Vincent climbed back to within two, 21-19, with 8:35 remaining until halftime. The Bison surged from there, using a 15-5 run over a six minute stretch, highlighted by Jones' steal and score at the 5:05 mark, to eventually take a 38-29 lead into the locker room 

Saint Vincent came out firing to start the second half, but the Bison always had an answer. After the Bearcats brought the Bethany lead down to six, 40-34, the Bison six-unanswered to push the lead back to 46-34.

The Green and White held a 13-point advantage at 66-53 with 2:45 left in regulation, but Saint Vincent rallied over the next minute and a half to climb back within five after a basket-and-one to make the score 67-62. Jones and Rudolph found themselves at the line in the final thirty seconds and converted both one-plus-one attemptes to increase the Bison lead to 71-62.

Bethany was up 71-64, before a Bearcat basket cut the Bison lead to five, 71-66, with 17 seconds to play. Saint Vincent fouled Williams with 11 seconds to extend the game, but he hit a free throw to ice the game at 72-66.

In the win, Bethany shot 48 percent form the field and 81.8 percent from the charity stripe.

The Green and White are back on the count onf Saturday, January 7 when they host Thiel with tip expected around 4 p.m.