Bethany knocks off Waynesburg, 87-71

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Jan. 21) – Led by four players scoring in double-figures, the Bison earned an 87-71 win over Waynesburg in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) contest Saturday afternoon.

The Bethany College men's basketball team improves to 7-3 in the PAC, 12-5 overall, and are currently on a five-game winning streak. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets fall to 5-12 overall, 3-7 in league play.

Senior guard Antonio Rudolph (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) led all players with 22 points and added five rebounds to lead the Bison to the win. Freshman forward Chaice Truex (Wheeling, W.Va./St. John Central (Ohio)) scored 17 points with nine rebounds, junior guard Calique Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) added 12 points and seven boards, while senior forward Javonte' Trujillo chipped in 11 points.

Both teams drained three pointers in the first thirty seconds of the game, before the Bison went on a 18-8 run over the next eight minutes to take a 21-11 lead with 11:46 left in the first half.

Waynesburg pulled back within five points, 25-20, with 8:12 until halftime. The Bison rebuilt their lead to nine, 37-26, over the next five minutes, but the Yellow Jackets managed to dash the Bethany lead to seven at 41-34 heading into halftime.

Waynesburg out-scored the Bison 14-8 over the first four minutes of the second half to pull within one point, 49-48. Bethany led 56-55 with 12:19 left in the game before they began to take control of the contest. A 20-8 run over the next eight minutes propelled the Bison to a 76-63 lead with 4:36 remaining in regulation and the Green & White never allowed Waynesburg within nine points for the remainder of the game.

The Bison finished the game shooting 30-for-56 (54 percent) from the field and converted 23-for-27 (85 percent) from the free throw line. Conversely, the Yellow Jackets were 24-for-59 (40 percent) from the field, draining just 5-for-22 (23 percent) from three-point range.

Bethany led wire-to-wire with the game being tied for only the first 33 seconds of the game.

Waynesburg was led by Marcus Wallace, who finished with 18 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the field.

The Bison return home on Wednesday, January 25 when they host Geneva at 8 p.m.