BETHANY, W.Va. (January 28) - The Bethany College men's basketball team shot a blistering 54.8 percent from the field in the open half as they opened up a 47-24 halftime lead and handed Thiel College an 88-74 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) loss Wednesday evening at Hummel Field House in Bethany.
The Tomcats (6-13, 0-4) jumped out to a 4-0 lead early in the opening half, but the Bison (13-4, 4-0) responded by outscoring Thiel 32-12 over the next 11:20 and grabbed a 32-16 lead with 6:34 to go in the first. Bethany went on a 15-4 run over the next 5:21 and led by a 47-24 margin going into the break.
Jim Deep led all scorers in the first half with 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from behind the three-point arch. Senior D.J. Gambridge led the Tomcats with seven points. Bethany shot 54.8 percent from the field in the first while the Tomcats managed to hit just 31.0 percent from the field.
After trailing by as many as 24 in the second half Thiel finished the final 2:18 on an 11-3 run to get to within 14 at the finish. Thiel shot 51.4 percent from the floor in the second half.
Matt Drahos led four Bison in double figures with 20 points and 10 boards. Deep and James Wallace added 15 a piece in the win.
Gambridge led all scorers with his 22-point, six rebound, four block effort. Freshman guard Chris Kwolek added 11 off of the bench for the Tomcats.
Thiel returns to action at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31 when they host PAC rival Waynesburg at the Rissell-Beeghly Gymnasia.
Newspaper Box Score Thiel vs Bethany 1/28/04 8 p.m. at Bethany, WV At Bethany, WV BETHANY 88, THIEL 74 THIEL (6-13, 0-4) D.J. Gambridge 8-16 6-6 22; Chris Kwolek 3-7 3-4 11; Mike Banach 4-4 1-2 10; Phil Canfield 3-5 0-0 7; Daryl Moore 2-5 3-4 7; Ryan Singleton 3-12 0-0 6; Percy Sweeting 2-8 0-1 4; Henry Passerello 1-3 0-0 3; Kevin Peterson 1-2 0-0 2; Stephen Laird 1-1 0-0 2; Damien Williams 0-1 0-0 0; Justin Townsend 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-66 13-17 74. BETHANY (13-4, 4-0) Matt Drahos 6-12 8-9 20; Jim Deep 5-10 2-2 15; James Wallace 7-14 1-2 15; Mike Drahos 6-12 2-3 14; Josh Polantz 3-8 0-0 9; Brandon Duncan 3-5 1-2 8; Jacob Dailer 1-2 0-0 2; Seth Hunter 1-1 0-0 2; Chris Stephens 1-2 0-0 2; Mike Yandrick 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 33-67 15-20 88. Thiel......................... 24 50 - 74 Bethany....................... 47 41 - 88 3-point goals-Thiel 5-19 (Chris Kwolek 2-5; Henry Passerello 1-3; Phil Canfield 1-2; Mike Banach 1-1; Justin Townsend 0-2; Ryan Singleton 0-3; Daryl Moore 0-1; D.J. Gambridge 0-2), Bethany 7-17 (Josh Polantz 3-6; Jim Deep 3-6; Brandon Duncan 1-2; Jacob Dailer 0-1; Mike Yandrick 0-1; Mike Drahos 0-1). Fouled out--Thiel-None, Bethany-None. Rebounds-Thiel 32 (Mike Banach 8), Bethany 45 (Mike Drahos 10; Matt Drahos 10). Assists-Thiel 20 (Daryl Moore 4), Bethany 22 (Josh Polantz 11). Total fouls-Thiel 16, Bethany 17. A-320