STEUBENVILLE, Ohio - The Bethany College men's basketball team fell to the Franciscan University of Steubenville (Ohio) by a final score of 89-73 in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game as graduate Academic All-PAC guard Troy Hixson (Grove City, Ohio/Bishop Ready) scored his 1,000th career point in Finnegan Fieldhouse.

Hixson needed only six points coming into the game to become the 28th player in Bison men's basketball history to score 1,000 career points and the second since the 2017-18 season. The Bison sharp-shooter scored two baskets early in the first half and reached the milestone with a corner three in the second period as his teammates and family cheered on, achieving the feat in his 90th career game as he now cracks the Top-30 on Bethany's all-time scoring leaderboard. Bethany (5-9, 1-4 PAC) got off to a solid start, but Franciscan (11-3, 3-2 PAC) would soon rattle off 24 straight points to take a commanding lead into the half. Although the Bison went on to outscore the Barons in the second period, Franciscan held on for the PAC victory. 

Bethany Leaders

• Hixson finished with 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting including three threes while also adding six rebounds, three assists, and one steal
• Senior forward Alex Andrews (Ocoee, Fla.) registered a team-high nine rebounds and a game-high four blocks along with four points in his Green and White debut
• Senior guard Ryan Reasbeck (Washington, Pa./Wheeling Central Catholic) was also in double-figures scoring 12 points and leading the team with two steals
• Sophomore forwards Jayden Jackson (Columbia, S.C./A.C. Flora) scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds
• Freshman guard Semaj Marshall (Washington, D.C./Parkside) assisted a team-high four times and contributed nine points
• Graduate guard Joe Bruggeman (Elkhorn, Neb./Mount Michael Benedictine) and freshman guard Alex Katsikas (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) each scored a career-high six points

Franciscan Leaders

• Junior forward Zach Oliver led the team in scoring with 18 points
• Junior forward Karl Yonkeu posted a team-best seven rebounds with 15 points
• Junior guard Sawyer Butler added 14 points and corralled two steals for the Barons

First Half (Franciscan 49-26)

• Jackson scored 11 points and recorded five rebounds to lead the Bison
• Hixson's first bucket of the day gave Bethany an early 8-3 lead

Second Half (Franciscan 89-73)

• Andrews grabbed six of his nine rebounds and blocked all four of his shots
• Hixson scored nine of his 13 points, including the 1,000th of his career, along with all three of his assists
• The Bison outscored Franciscan 12-4 in transition

The Bison are back in action on Saturday, January 17 as they host a Presidents' Athletic Conference game against Thiel (Pa.) College at 3 p.m. on Joe Kurey Memorial Court inside Hummel Fieldhouse.