It didn’t take long for Matt Drahos to surpass the milestone, as he entered the contest with 1,499 points. He scored a lay-up seven seconds into the game, which was followed later by a triple from Mike to give BC (7-4) a 5-0 lead. The Bison’s lead was 13-8 when the Muskies (6-4) tore off nine straight points for a 17-13 advantage with 8:25 to go before intermission.
Bethany responded with consecutive treys by senior Scott Mezyk and junior Chris Stephens. Late in the half, Mike Drahos finished a three-point play and junior James Wallace hit a lay-up just before the halftime horn to send BC into the locker room with a 34-29 lead.
The Bison appeared to take control early in the second half, as an early three by Muskingum’s Zach Ross was answered with a 12-2 Bethany burst that featured trifectas from Mezyk and junior Marc Palermo to give BC their biggest lead at 46-34. The Muskies came back with three straight hoops and remained within striking distance until making their run with less than five minutes to play.
Two free throws from Palermo gave the Green and White a 57-49 lead with 5:40 on the clock before Muskingum roared back with eight points in one minute to tie the game. Trevor Scott and Zach Ross buried threes and Scott then hit two free throws to tie the game at 57 with 4:40 left. The teams swapped scores three times until Muskingum’s Brandon Todd hit a foul shot with a minute to go to give the hosts a 65-64 lead.
That’s when the Drahos brothers took over. Matt converted a traditional three-point play with 36 seconds left to give the Bison the lead for good, then added a foul shot with 18 seconds later. Mike Drahos then sealed the deal with two free throws with eight seconds on the clock and Bethany pulled out the tough road victory.
In becoming just the fourth player in Bethany history to surpass 1,500 career points, Matt Drahos hit six of 10 shots from the floor and eight of 11 from the foul line for his 20 markers. Mike, who now has 1,351 career points, posted his third double-double of the year with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Also, scoring in double digits for Bethany was Mezyk and Stephens, who both hit a trio of three-pointers and finished with 10. Stephens also handed out a game-high seven assists.
Leading Muskingum was Scott, who delivered 18 points off the bench, while Todd totaled 16 points and nine rebounds.
Bethany’s next game will be their final before starting PAC play, which begins Jan. 7 at Thomas More College. In their last tune-up, the Bison will travel to Hiram College Jan. 3 for a 7 p.m. tip-off with the Terriers.
Bethany College vs Muskingum College 12/30/05 7:00 p.m. at Muskingum College At Muskingum College BETHANY COLLEGE 70, MUSKINGUM COLLEGE 65 BETHANY COLLEGE (7-4) Matt Drahos 6-10 8-11 20; Mike Drahos 6-11 6-9 19; Scott Mezyk 3-8 1-2 10; Chris Stephens 3-5 1-2 10; Marc Palermo 2-4 2-5 7; James Wallace 1-2 0-0 2; Imani Smith 0-1 2-2 2; Josh Polantz 0-0 0-0 0; Marcus Adams 0-1 0-0 0; Brody Jackson 0-1 0-0 0; Joe Sprumont 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-44 20-31 70. MUSKINGUM COLLEGE (6-4, 2-2 OAC) Trevor Scott 6-11 4-4 18; Brandon Todd 6-16 3-6 16; Cole Pittis 5-10 0-0 10; Zach Ross 4-11 0-0 10; Jeremy Ady 4-10 0-1 9; Jason Dicken 1-1 0-1 2; Andrew Chonko 0-1 0-0 0; Mike Seibert 0-0 0-0 0; DJ Schrock 0-1 0-0 0; Bill Armstrong 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 7-12 65. Bethany College............... 34 36 - 70 Muskingum College............. 29 36 - 65 3-point goals-Bethany College 8-15 (Scott Mezyk 3-6; Chris Stephens 3-3; Marc Palermo 1-1; Mike Drahos 1-2; Brody Jackson 0-1; Matt Drahos 0-2), Muskingum College 6-23 (Zach Ross 2-6; Trevor Scott 2-4; Brandon Todd 1-4; Jeremy Ady 1-5; DJ Schrock 0-1; Cole Pittis 0-3). Fouled out--Bethany College-None, Muskingum College-Cole Pittis. Rebounds-Bethany College 34 (Mike Drahos 13), Muskingum College 32 (Brandon Todd 9). Assists-Bethany College 19 (Chris Stephens 7), Muskingum College 12 (Cole Pittis 4). Total fouls-Bethany College 20, Muskingum College 27. A-435