Men's Basketball: Bison hit century mark in season opener against Mounties

CRESSON, Pa. – The Bethany College men's basketball team opened the 2023-24 season with an 101-99 overtime win over Mount Aloysius Wednesday evening.

GAME FLOW

• After trailing 5-0, Chance Wells hit a three-pointer for the Bison's first three of the season.
• Bethany trailed most of the first half. The Bison took a slight lead after Cole Dailey made a layup with 12:48 to go. Over the course of the seven minutes of the first half, the Bison and Mounties battled back and forth.
• The Mounties went on a run to take a double-digit lead. At the half, Bethany trailed 50-42.
• The Bison opened the second half cutting the deficit to one, 50-49. After a Mountie time out, the Mounties went on another run extending their lead to 11.
• With under a minute left in the game, the Bison trailed by one. Will Brooks hit a three-pointer to bring the Bison to within one, 90-89. Cole Dailey hit a jump shot, giving the Bison the lead, 91-90, with 25 seconds left.
• The Bison fouled the Mounties allowing them to go to the foul line. The game would head into overtime, knotted at 91-91.
• In overtime, Tony Fox scored first to give the Bison a 93-91 lead. The Mounties hit a three to take a one-point lead. The Bison would go up three after Troy Hixson hit a three and Chance Wells hit one free throw. In the final minute, the Bison and Mounties exchanged free throws with the Bison coming out on top.

IN THE BOX SCORE

• Sophomore Cole Dailey led the Bison with 34 points and 12 rebounds. He added five assists and two blocks while shooting 14-for-19 from the field.
• Sophomore Troy Hixson added 22 points. Junior Chance Wells scored 21 points with four steals.
• Tony Fox added 12 points and 10 rebounds with four steals.
• Freshman Will Brooks had seven points, seven rebounds, and five assists to open his career. He also added three blocks and two steals.

BY THE NUMBERS

• The Bison shot 49.4% from the field while the Mounties hit 45.3% of their shots.
• The Mounties edged the Bison on the boards, 49-41.

NOTABLES

• The win was the first season opening win since 2016. The win in 2016 was also against Mount Aloysius.
• The Bison last hit the century mark in a 103-100 win against Franciscan on Dec. 1 in 2021.

RECORDS

Bethany College – 1-0 (0-0 PAC)

Mount Aloysius College – 0-1 (0-0 AMCC)

UP NEXT

Bethany returns to action on Friday, Nov. 10 when they travel to Defiance for the Purple and Gold Tip-off. The Bison will face Miami-Hamilton at 8 pm.