Feb. 4 – BETHANY, W. Va. – The Bethany College men's basketball team continued their hot streak, as they took down Thomas More College, 67-58, on Wednesday evening to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games. In the win, four different players notched double figures as the Bison moved to 8-4 in conference play.
The game was tightly contested through the first five minutes, with Thomas More holding a two-point advantage (11-9) thanks to a Drew Mumford three pointer with 15:21 remaining in the half. Senior Jeff Joynes (Baltimore, Md./Poly) then went on a personal 7-0 run to retake the lead for the Bison, 16-11, with 10:38 left in the opening stanza.
The Green & White would continue to keep the Saints at bay, countering every Thomas More bucket with one of their own. The Bison then got a little breathing room, as another 7-0 run, this one late in the frame, swelled the Bethany lead to 11 points. The final bucket of the run came from a layup from Delonte' Joyce (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis), who pushed the Bethany advantage to 35-24 with 1:38 to play. Bethany would then go into the locker room with an eight-point advantage.
The Saints would come out swinging in the second half of play, opening the frame with a 14-6 run to knot the game at 41-41 apiece on a layup by Louis Maniacci with 14:52 to go. Thomas More would then capture their largest lead of the second half when a Daniel Williams three gave TMC a 47-43 advantage.
The Green & White would respond to the Saints' run with one of their own as the Bison received two three-point baskets from Joyce and a lay-in by Joynes to turn a four-point deficit into a four-point advantage with 8:48 left in regulation. The Bison would never again trail in the contest, swelling the lead to nine-points late in the game, 67-58, and winning by the same score.
Offensively, Joyce posted his sixth 20-point game in his last seven chances. The senior guard finished the contest with a game-high 20 points, including shooting 3-of-7 from long distance, and 7-of-10 from the charity stripe. He also added seven rebounds and four steals to his totals.
Three other Bison notched double figures in the win as Alan Harper (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) finished with 14, including 10 in the first half. Joynes completed the game with 13 in a reserve role, while Darrian Bruster (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) added a dozen.
As a team, the Bison locked down defensively, holding the Saints to just 37 percent shooting for the game, which included 8-of-31 from long distance. The Bison also forced 12 Thomas More turnovers while collecting 11 steals. It marked the 11th time that the Green & White have totaled at least 10 steals in a contest.
Over the course of the seven-game winning streak, the Bison have improved greatly on the defensive end, holding opponents to just 64.8 points per game, nearly six points below their season average. The Bison are also forcing teams to take tough, contested jump shots and as a result, teams are shooting just 31 percent from distance (49-of-154) during the Green & White's seven-game run.
The Bison will be idle on Saturday, but will continue the second half of their six-game home stand on Wednesday, February 11 when they host the Titans of Westminster College. Game time is slated for 8 p.m.
