Dec. 17 – BETHANY, W. Va. – The Bethany College men's basketball team (5-5) dropped a 79-70 decision to visiting Saint John Fisher on Wednesday evening in Bethany.
The Cardinals opened the contest on a 19-2 run, holding the Bison to just one basket over the first nine minutes.
The Green & White would quickly respond, however, cutting the lead back to single digits using a 10-0 run to trim the Cardinal advantage. Calique Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) started the Bison off with a three from the left wing and was followed by a pair of free throws from Andrew Williams (Oil City, Pa./Oil City). Darrian Bruster (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) then notched his first jumper of the game to make the score 19-9. Alan Harper (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) followed with the first of his two first-half three-point makes to cut the advantage to 19-12 with 8:37 to play.
The Bison would hit three more three pointers over the rest of the half including one each from Bruster, Williams and Harper. Harper's second three pulled the Bison within two (31-29) with 2:00 to play in the frame. Saint John Fisher would close the half on a small, 5-0 run, however, and the Bison would find themselves down 36-29 at the halftime break.
The Bethany bench once again proved to be a key contributor for the Green & White, as the reserves scored 20 of the team's 29 points, including 10 from Harper and five each from Jones and Williams.
The second half would open with the Bison cutting the advantage to five (36-31) on a layup by Andres Herrero (Guadalajara, Spain) with 19:11 to play. From there, however, the Bison could get no closer over the remainder of the half.
The Cardinals would extend the advantage to 14 points at the 8:10 mark of the second frame on a three-pointer by Adam Ambielli. That lead would prove to be the largest of the game, before the Bison would once again cut into the advantage.
The Green & White would cut the margin back to seven points on a three pointer by Jeff Joynes (Baltimore, Md./Poly) with 56 seconds remaining in the half, but solid free throw shooting by the Cardinals kept the Bison at bay, and Bethany would eventually succumb to the nine-point difference, 79-70.
The starters picked up the load for the Bison in the second half as Joynes and Delonte' Joyce (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) combined for 19 points. Joynes scored all 11 of his points in the second stanza.
The Bison reserves played solid in the contest, finishing with 25 points, the most since the Bison bench registered 30 in a win over Heidelberg on Nov. 22. Harper led all Bethany scorers with a season-high 13 points, including three, three-point baskets. Four Bison scored in double figures as Joynes finished with 11 and Joyce (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) and Bruster notched 10 each. Antonio Rudolph (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) totaled nine points in the game and also distributed a career-high six assists.
The Bison will be back in action on New Year's Eve as they play host to Ohio Northern University. The contest with the Polar Bears is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
