Bison upended by Carnegie Mellon, 59-58

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

• Box Score

PITTSBURGH (Nov. 21) - The Bethany College men's basketball team was defeated 59-58 by Carnegie Mellon in a non-conference game at the Skibo Gymnasium Tuesday evening.

The Bison fall to 0-4 on the season, while the Tartans improve to 1-1 overall this year.

Carnegie Mellon out-scored Bethany 21-to-7 over an eight-minute stretch to tie the score at 58-58 with 1:22 remaining in the game. Both teams traded empty possessions and a runner by senior guard Calique Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) rimmed out with seven seconds remaining in the game. A foul on the rebound sent the Tartans to the free-throw line, where they converted the front-end, but were charged with a line-violation that kept the score at 59-58 with four seconds on the clock. Bethany brought the ball up-court, where Jones was unable to convert a potential game-winning shot as time expired, dealing the Bison its third one-possession loss of the year.

Jones led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. Sophomore forward Chaice Truex (Wheeling, W.Va./St. John's Central) registered a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while classmate Aiden Albert (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) added a career-best seven points in his first-collegiate start.

Bethany led 5-2 early in the game, before the Tartans scored seven-straight points to take a 9-5 advantage with 17:09 left in the first half. Both teams went cold over the next six minutes, with Bethany holding Carnegie Mellon without a field goal to tie the game at 10-10 with 11:31 left until halftime.

The Tartans opened up a 16-10 lead with a trio of buckets at the 9:10-mark of the first half, but Bethany went on to out-score the hosts 18-to-8 over the final nine minutes to take a 28-24 lead into the locker rooms.

The two teams traded baskets in the opening five minutes of the half and Carnegie Mellon was within one possession at 35-33 with 15:27 remaining in the game. Bethany opened up a 12-3 run over the next four minutes to take a 47-36 lead at the 11:54-mark of the second half. Jones and Albert each knocked down treys, while a put-back by freshman guard Trey Shifflett (York, Pa./William Penn) capped off the run and forced a Tartan timeout.

Bethany extended its lead to 14, 51-37, when senior Christian Harris (Cleveland, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) drained a shot from long range with 10:46 left in the game, but Carnegie Mellon began to mount its rally. The Tartans scored 12-straight points to pull within two points, 51-49, at the 6:07-mark of the second half. Jones ended the Bison drought with a jump shot and knocked down a three pointer, before a Shifflett layup rebuilt the Bethany lead to 58-51 with 3:33 remaining in the contest.

Carnegie Mellon battled back once again with six-straight points, including a three-pointer to tie the game at 58-58 with 1:22 on the clock. 

Bethany shot a higher percentage from the field and from beyond-the-arc, but were only 4-of-13 (31 percent) from the free-throw line, compared to the 12-of-18 (67 percent) posted from the charity stripe by the Tartans. Carnegie Mellon also held a 47-to-37 advantage on the glass, with a 12-to-4 edge in second-chance points.

The Bison will return home on Sunday, November 26 when they host Marietta at 3 p.m. inside the Hummel Field House for a non-conference game. Marietta opened the season at No. 13 in the D3Hoops.com Preseason Poll.