Trailing by 17 points with just a shade over seven minutes remaining, the Bethany College men's basketball team mounted a huge comeback to force overtime.
Unfortunately, the Bison couldn't make enough plays in the extra five-minute period, and fell to Waynesburg, 91-89, in Presidents' Athletic Conference action on Joe Kurey Memorial Court inside the Hummel Field House.
Less than 24 hours after his elevation from the junior varsity squad, senior Josh Abee played a pivotal role in forcing overtime as he hit a pair of free throws with 28 seconds remaining. Both teams had a chance to win the game in regulation. Bethany forced a turnover but missed the ensuing driving lay-up, and Waynesburg missed a free throw line jumper at the buzzer.
Bethany put itself in position for the thrilling comeback by scoring 12 of the last 13 points over the final 2:23 ofregulation. Four different players found the scorebook down the stretch.
Junior Cole Dailey jumpstarted the Bison as he scored eight of Bethany's first 10 points. The first 12 minutes featured four lead changes and eight ties before an 8-0 WU run gave the visitors some breathing room, and the halftime Bethany deficit was four.
Waynesburg scored 11 of the first 14 points in the second half to take the game's first double-figure lead. It was a lead that grew to as much as 17 before the Bison mounted the comeback.
Freshman Jess Roller and Dailey finished with 14 points each to lead Bethany. Roller added six rebounds, all offensive,with one assist, while Dailey pulled down five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
Sophomore Cole Matthews came off the bench for 12 points and four rebounds, and sophomore Ben Guffey tabulated 11 points and four rebounds.
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES
- Fifty-two fouls were called in the game, leading to 53 free throw attempts. Bethany was 22-of-32, and Waynesburg was 28-of-41.
- Bethany pulled down 24 offensive rebounds which led to 18 second-chance points.
- Both teams forced 15 turnovers, but the Yellow Jackets held the 25-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
- Eight of the 10 players that recorded at least 10 minutes finished with at least one assist.
- The game featured 11 ties and six lead changes.
Bethany (6-10 overall, 1-10 PAC) has a weeklong hiatus before returning to the hardwood to face Franciscan 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 29.
This article was written by Assistant Athletic Director for Communications, Jayson Ameer Rasheed. If you believe there are mistakes in information-- or have a separate thought relating to the event in the article -- please email ameer.rasheed@bethanywv.edu for any corrections/comments.
