Truex, Davis lead Bison past Geneva, 80-66

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

• Box Score

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (Jan. 24) - Behind career performances by sophomore Chaice Truex (Wheeling, W.Va./St. John's Central (Ohio)) and senior center Liam Davis (Orlando, Fla./Orlando Christian Prep), the Bison rallied for an 80-66 win at Geneva in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game Wednesday night.

The win extends the Bethany College men's basketball team's winning streak to six games and improves the Bison to 9-2 in the PAC, 9-9 overall. Meanwhile, the Golden Tornadoes have their five-game winning streak snapped and fall to 9-9 overall, 5-6 in league play. 

Truex matched a career-high 26 points, including 17 in the second half, on 10-of-13 shooting (77 percent) with four rebounds. Davis also dropped a career-best performance with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting (63 percent) with a team-best seven rebounds. Senior guard Andrew Williams (Oil City, Pa./Oil City) also scored in double figures with 11 points in the win.

The Bison led 10-9 on a layup by senior forward Christian Harris (Cleveland, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) with 15:50 remaining in the first half, when Geneva mounted a 10-3 run over the next six minutes to take a 19-13 lead near the 10 minute-mark of the period. Bethany was limited to 1-of-10 shooting, including 1-of-6 from three-point range, during Geneva's run that established its largest lead of the first half.

Bethany turned things around and rallied with a 12-4 run, making all five of its shots, to take a 25-23 lead with just under six minutes left in the first half. Davis was on-point during the run, scoring seven points on three baskets, including an "and-one". Geneva was able to reclaim the lead two minutes later and managed to take a 38-35 lead into halftime. 

The Bison tied the game three times in the first six minutes of the second half, before finally breaking through for a 45-43 lead with 13:55 left in the game on a Truex basket. Bethany out-scored Geneva 23-to-9 over the first 10 minutes of the second half and built an 11-point lead, 60-49, with 9:52 remaining in the game.

Geneva went on a run of its own, out-scoring Bethany 13-to-6 during the next six minutes to get within four, 66-62, with under five minutes left in the contest, but the Bison did not allow the Golden Tornadoes to get any closer. The Green & White held Geneva to 1-of-6 shooting over the final five minutes and rebuilt its lead to double-digits with seven-unanswered points to close out its sixth-straight win this season.

The Bison finished the night shooting 32-of-64 from the field and held a 43-to-31 advantage on the glass. Bethany's prowess on the glass helped the team score 15 second-chance points in the win.

Bethany returns home on Saturday, January 27 when they host Westminster at 3 p.m. for a PAC game at the Hummel Field House. The Titans are one of two teams to defeat the Bison in league-play this season.