Men's Basketball: First-half surge propels Bison over Cougars

Drew VonScio, Student Assistant for Athletic Communicaions 

BETHANY, W.Va. – In the second half of a PAC doubleheader, Bethany took on Chatham at home this afternoon inside Hummel Fieldhouse. Fueled by a 51-point first half, Bethany picked up their third win of the season and first at home as they defeated Chatham 83-65.

The Bison got off to an electric start in the first half with a 12-0 run. Cole Dailey got the offense going with a layup followed by a Troy Hixson three-pointer 30 seconds later. Chance Wells connected on a jumper before TJ Jenkins made a three of his own. Dailey added another layup for the Green and White. Chatham finally got on the board with a three before Chance Wright got involved in the scoring with a three of his own. The Cougars went on a bit of a run of their own, 6-0 before Wells posted another jumper and three-pointer. Dailey then got involved in the shooting from outside the arc with one of his own. Chatham attempted to cut into the deficit, but Bethany continued pouring it on offensively leading by as many as 14 before extending it even further to a 19-point advantage later in the half. The Cougars rallied and pulled within 10, but they could not get over the hump of going down into single digits before Bethany added more points starting with a pair of free throws from Dailey. Quinn Hiles got involved off the bench with a jumper of his own along with a pair of shots from Cody Davis as the Bison went into the break ahead 51-37.

With their backs against the wall, Chatham came out strong to start the second half as they went on a 10-2 run similar to what Bethany did in the first half that pulled them within six points. Hixson posted a jump shot followed by a free throw from Wells that continued to establish a two-possession game. The game slowly shifted to an eight-point advantage after Tony Fox and Hixson hit jumpers. Following some momentum, Chatham went back to within five points. Hiles added a three along with a pair of free throws from Fox got Bethany back in front by eight; eight quickly turned into 10 with a Fox jumper. Wright drained a jumper with just over

seven minutes to go that reinstated a double-digit advantage for the Green and White. The Cougars got within six once again just over a minute later before going scoreless over the final five-and-a-half minutes of play. Bethany went on a 14-0 run over that time with a strong crowd supporting them the entire way to win at home by a score of 83-65 for the first time in over a year with the previous wins this season being on the road.

Dailey led the Bison with 19 points and eight rebounds with Fox right behind him at 17 points and seven rebounds. Wright also posted eight boards in a collective team effort to win the game. Bethany will use this strong performance to rally again Wednesday night at home against Grove City. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.