Men's Basketball: Presidents Outlast Bison in PAC Opener

Drew VonScio, Student Assistant for Athletic Communications 

BETHANY, W.Va. – The Bethany men's basketball team opened up PAC conference play at home against the defending champions, Washington and Jefferson, inside Hummel Field House Tuesday evening. Despite yet another strong second half performance which saw the Bison put up their best overall offensive performance in the early goings of the season, they fell to the Presidents 93-84.

W&J opened the scoring just 10 seconds in to the first half when Michael Bigley found an open Beckett Connelly in the paint, yet Bethany responded with a layup from junior guard Julian McGee. The Presidents and the Bison traded point-for-point through the opening five minutes of play, but the visitors quickly started to extend their advantage and showcase why they are the reigning champions of the Presidents' Athletic Conference. W&J's lead grew to as much as 16 points in the opening frame before Bethany began to claw themselves out of their deficit. The Bison edged the Presidents 10-7 over the next several minutes to cut their deficit down to 13. Both teams showcased great moments over the final eight minutes of the half, but W&J went into the break on top 57-43.

Needing to put on their best 20 minutes of the young campaign, the Bison stormed onto the court and opened up the second half connecting a multitude of shots which saw them cut the Presidents' lead down to single digits. W&J used their experience to pull ahead by a whopping 20 points midway through the second half and things started to look bleak for the Green and White. However, the game clock winding down ignited a fire in the Bison as belief quickly spread around the team that the contest was far from over. Bethany around the instructions of interim head coach Brian Sansom and assistant coach Brandon Thorsen used every ounce of effort they had over the final portion of the contest as the thought of an upset whirled in their minds. Despite going on a 27-15 run over the final 10 minutes of play, the Bison fell short by a score of 93-84.

Freshman forward Cole Dailey paced the Green and White with his first collegiate double-double as he put up 17 points and 12 boards, including 10 defensively. Chance Wells and Quinn Hiles also combined for 28 points, and Troy Hixson added a career-high 12 points from the bench. The Bison had their best looks of the season tonight shooting 43.8% from the field and 72% from the free throw line.

Bethany have a lot to build off of when looking back on tonight's game and will look to utilize it Saturday when they host the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 P.M.