Feb. 26 – WAYNESBURG, Pa. - The Bethany College men's basketball team's PAC Championship run came to an end on Thursday evening as they fell to second-seeded Waynesburg University, 70-57, in the PAC semifinals.
The Bison and Yellow Jackets played tight through the entirety of the first half, with neither team holding more than a three-point advantage throughout. The first stanza saw six ties and five lead changes over the first 20 minutes of play. Bethany never held more than a three-point advantage in the frame.
With the contest tied at 18-18 apiece, senior Jeff Joynes (Baltimore, Md./Poly) buried his first triple of the game, giving the Green & White a 21-18 lead with 8:38 to play. However the Bison would see themselves outscored 8-2 over the remainder of the first half, and Bethany would go into the break down by three, 26-23.
Neither team got a lot going offensively in the first half as both sides shot under 40 percent in the frame. The Bison played solid defense in the half, holding the Yellow Jackets to 10-of-28 shooting in the stanza, which included 2-of-12 from deep.
Waynesburg would push their lead out to five points (31-26) to open the second half, but the Bison would answer to tie the game for a seventh time. Joynes stuck another triple, which was followed by a jumper by Delonte' Joyce (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis). The latter tied the game at 31-31 with 16:45 to go.
It was from there, however, that the Yellow Jackets would pull away from the Bison. Waynesburg used a 12-2 run over just a three-minute span to expand their advantage to 51-41 with 10:20 to play in the game. Four different players scored a basket in the run for Waynesburg, including Byrum Louco, who scored the final four of the 10-point swing.
After the run by the Yellow Jackets, the Bison would fight hard to get the game back within striking distance. With 6:22 left in regulation, Joyce pulled the Green & White within five points (54-49) on a layup in traffic. However, Wanyesburg would have another answer, eventually pulling away from Bethany once again to hand the Green & White the 70-57 defeat.
Offensively for the Bison, Joyce and Joynes led the way as the two seniors combined for 28 points in the contest. Sophomore Antonio Rudolph (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) added nine points, while junior Darrian Bruster (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) also finished with nine.
The Green & White finished the season with a 17-10 record but could see an opportunity to improve on that with a potential bid into the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III South Regional Tournament looming.
