The defeat ends BC’s three-game winning streak and puts their record at 5-4. The Storm improved to 6-1 with their fifth consecutive victory.
Lake Erie, who came into the contest allowing just 58 points per game, used an 11-2 run early to stake out to an 18-8 advantage. Bethany countered with a 12-2 spurt, capped off by a lay-up and foul shot by junior Chris Stephens to tie the game at 20-20 with six minutes left before halftime.
The teams would swap streaks again before the break. The Bison were off the mark with four attempts from deep during a 9-0 Storm run that put the hosts in front 29-20 with just under four minutes to go before the intermission. But Bethany responded again, as senior forward Matt Drahos hit a lay-up and trey on back-to-back possessions and then sank two free throws at the 1:16 mark to send the game to halftime deadlocked at 31.
Drahos went into the break with 13 points to lead the Bison, but the Storm bench was the big story of the first half. It scored 21 of the team’s 31 points in the opening 20 minutes, including 10 by Trivone Curry.
Senior Mike Drahos scored the first hoop of the second half to give BC their only lead of the contest, but Lake Erie took control after that. Robert Williams had a pair of traditional three-point plays during a 14-2 burst that gave the guests a 47-37 lead with 16 minutes to play.
From there, Bethany was able to cut the deficit to seven points four different times, but could not make the big shot to keep the run going. After going 2-19 in the first half from the arc, the Bison canned just one of 12 attempts in the second stanza, which allowed the Storm to put the triumph away by going 7-8 from the foul line in the final two minutes.
The Bison, who were shooting 34 percent from three-point land entering the game, had three players finish in double digits, led by Matt Drahos’s 18 points. Junior guard Marc Palermo came off the bench to chip in with 13 markers and Mike Drahos had 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds in the defeat.
Leading the way for Lake Erie, who committed only 10 turnovers and was 23-27 from the foul line in the win, was Williams with 21 points. Other top scorers were Reggie Richardson with 13, while Curry amassed 12 points and seven boards.
Bethany will have one more game before the Christmas break, as they travel to LaRoche College Tuesday, Dec. 13 for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
Lake Erie College vs Bethany College 12/10/05 2 p.m. at Bethany, WV At Bethany, WV LAKE ERIE COLLEGE 77, BETHANY COLLEGE 62 LAKE ERIE COLLEGE (6-1) Williams Robert 6-9 8-8 21; Richardson Reggie 4-7 5-7 13; Curry Trivone 4-8 4-5 12; Harris Jajcen 3-9 2-2 8; Campbell Darnell 1-5 4-5 6; Hunt Chad 2-5 0-0 5; Washington Howard 2-4 0-0 5; Thornton Derrick 2-3 0-0 4; Lutzeier Jack 1-2 0-0 3; Bailey Terry 0-0 0-0 0; Stewart Phil 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 23-27 77. BETHANY COLLEGE (5-4) Matt Drahos 6-15 5-6 18; Marc Palermo 4-8 4-4 13; Mike Drahos 3-7 4-4 10; Brody Jackson 2-7 2-2 6; Chris Stephens 2-6 2-3 6; Scott Mezyk 1-5 2-2 5; Josh Polantz 0-7 2-2 2; Joe Sprumont 1-1 0-0 2; James Wallace 0-2 0-0 0; Carey Palermo 0-0 0-0 0; Chris Strcula 0-0 0-0 0; Imani Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-59 21-23 62. Lake Erie College............. 31 46 - 77 Bethany College............... 31 31 - 62 3-point goals-Lake Erie College 4-8 (Hunt Chad 1-2; Washington Howard 1-2; Williams Robert 1-1; Lutzeier Jack 1-2; Curry Trivone 0-1), Bethany College 3-31 (Scott Mezyk 1-4; Marc Palermo 1-5; Matt Drahos 1-7; Chris Stephens 0-2; Josh Polantz 0-6; Brody Jackson 0-4; Mike Drahos 0-3). Fouled out--Lake Erie College-None, Bethany College-Chris Stephens. Rebounds-Lake Erie College 37 (Campbell Darnell 7; Curry Trivone 7), Bethany College 38 (Mike Drahos 9). Assists-Lake Erie College 7 (Richardson Reggie 4), Bethany College 10 (Scott Mezyk 5). Total fouls-Lake Erie College 20, Bethany College 21. A-205 Lake Erie wins fourth in a row. Bethany's next game is Tue., Dec. 13 at LaRoche at 7 p.m.