WV Heartland News

Men's Basketball: Wolverines knock off Bison

 Wanting to add momentum after their biggest win of the season on Saturday, Bethany's men's basketball team hosted Grove City in an effort to try and lower the gap between the two as the visitors hold the final playoff spot in the PAC. The Wolverines cruised to victory by a final score of 80-56. 

Grove City opened the contest with a lead that was quickly taken back when Chance Wells connected on a three-pointer. The Wolverines responded before a Dailey layup knotted the score up 5-5. The visitors went on an 8-0 run that quickly saw the Green and White going back to the drawing boards. Troy Hixson scored the first points out of the timeout with a jumper that cut the Bison deficit down to six. A defensive stalemate ensued before Grove City posted free throws. This lead quickly opened up to double digits as the Bison chased the game from then until the end. Bethany got it back within six courtesy of a Cody Davis jump shot and then within four on a Tony Fox layup. The Wolverines and Bison continued a back-and-forth contest trading points before Grove City went on a 10-2 late in the first half to reinstate a double-digit lead. The visitors led by as many as 17 and took that advantage into the locker room. 

Bethany started the second half the same way the first one ended with being on the wrong foot as Grove City started out on a 7-2 run; the lone Bison points being a Dailey layup. Immediately following the timeout, the Green and White went on a 5-0 run themselves. Wells added a jumper that got the Bison back under a 20-point deficit, but the Wolverines offense was simply too much for Bethany to handle. Wells posted another jump shot before Grove City went ahead by a whopping 25. Dailey and Da'Shan Clark added layups to keep the Bison remotely close. Grove City continued to implement their hockey-like substitutions with constantly interchanging the five on the court to pull ahead by as many as 26 before Dailey posted a pair of free throws. Freshman Owen Ward would put up his first two collegiate points at the foul line late in the game as the Wolverines would see out the remaining time and close out their 26-point victory. 

Dailey led Bethany with 18 points and five rebounds while Wells added an additional 11 points. The Bison will hit the road for their next two games starting with a trip up to Westminster on Saturday afternoon with tip-off set for 3 p.m. 

Original source can be found here