GREENVILLE, Pa. (February 18) - The Thiel College men's basketball team shot just 37 percent from the floor and battled through 14 ties but managed to hold on and defeat Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC)-leading Bethany College 64-63 Wednesday evening at Rissell-Beeghly Gymnasia.
Junior guard Daryl Moore put the Tomcats up 6-0 on a pair of three-pointers with 17:27 left in the first half. The Bison (17-7, 7-2) rattled off 11-straight points over the next 4:03 and grabbed an 11-6 lead on a three by freshman Jim Deep.
Moore put the Tomcats back on top 27-26 after drilling a pair of free throws with 1:46 remaining in the first but a Deep layup with 43 seconds remaining was enough to give the Bison a 28-27 lead going into the break. Despite leading at the break Bethany committed 17 first-half turnovers to just seven for the Tomcats.
The start of the second half was played close by both squads until a jumper by senior forward D.J. Gambridge put Thiel up by five (53-48) with 6:50 to play in the contest. A three by freshman Brandon Duncan tied the game for the Bison for the 11th time at 55-55 with just under five to play.
Sophomore forward Percy Sweeting tied the game for the 14th time at 62-62 with just under two minutes to play before a jumper by sophomore forward Stephen Laird with 1:27 to go put the Tomcats up by two (64-62). Sophomore Mike Drahos hit one-of-two from the free throw line to get Bethany back to within one (64-63) with just over a minute to play.
Following a Bison turnover committed with five seconds to play, the Tomcats threw the following inbounds pass away with three seconds left. Bethany called a timeout following the turnover but traveling was whistled with just one second on the clock to give the Tomcats the conference victory.
Mike Drahos led the Bison with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Matt Drahos finished with 13 points and eight boards while Deep and James Wallace added 12 each. Bethany held a commanding 38-20 advantage in rebounds but finished the game with 31 turnovers to the Tomcats' 15.
Laird paced the Tomcats with his 17-point effort. He finished six-of-eight from the floor and hit four-of-six from three-point range. Moore added 13 points and three assists while Gambridge chipped in with 12 and five rebounds.
Thiel looks to close out its PAC regular season on Saturday, Feb. 21 when it travels to Waynesburg College. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Bethany College vs Thiel College 2-18-04 8 p.m. at Greenville, PA -- Rissell-Beeghly Gym At Greenville, PA -- Rissell-Beeghly Gym THIEL COLLEGE 64, BETHANY COLLEGE 63 BETHANY COLLEGE (17-7, 7-2) Mike Drahos 5-7 6-10 17; Matt Drahos 5-9 3-6 13; James Wallace 4-6 4-8 12; Jim Deep 5-7 0-1 12; Brandon Duncan 2-4 0-0 5; Josh Polantz 0-3 4-6 4; Chris Stephens 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 21-37 17-32 63. THIEL COLLEGE (9-15, 3-6) Stephen Laird 6-8 1-3 17; Daryl Moore 3-5 5-8 13; D.J. Gambridge 4-10 4-4 12; Ryan Singleton 2-8 2-2 7; Percy Sweeting 2-8 2-2 6; Damien Williams 2-4 1-2 5; Phil Canfield 0-4 2-3 2; Henry Passerello 0-2 1-2 1; Justin Townsend 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 19-51 19-29 64. Bethany College............... 28 35 - 63 Thiel College................. 27 37 - 64 3-point goals-Bethany College 4-7 (Jim Deep 2-2; Brandon Duncan 1-2; Mike Drahos 1-1; Josh Polantz 0-1; Chris Stephens 0-1), Thiel College 7-15 (Stephen Laird 4-6; Daryl Moore 2-2; Ryan Singleton 1-1; Damien Williams 0-1; Phil Canfield 0-3; Justin Townsend 0-1; Percy Sweeting 0-1). Fouled out--Bethany College-None, Thiel College-None. Rebounds-Bethany College 38 (Mike Drahos 10), Thiel College 20 (D.J. Gambridge 5). Assists-Bethany College 10 (Josh Polantz 6), Thiel College 13 (Justin Townsend 3; Daryl Moore 3). Total fouls-Bethany College 23, Thiel College 22. A-1000