The Bison will face the host Spartans at 4 p.m. Saturday after Case dumped Penn State-Altoona 78-72 in the other first round game. Adrian and Altoona will battle in the consolation game at 2 p.m.
A short jumper by Adrian’s Steve Thornton gave the Bulldogs an 11-9 lead at the 14:36 mark. That was answered by a jumper from BC senior forward Mike Drahos, which not only tied the game but kick-started a 15-2 spurt that gave Bethany a lead it would not relinquish. Leading the Bison, who shot 51.6 percent in the first half, was Matt Drahos, who had 14 points to give BC a 39-24 lead at intermission.
The second half was more of the same for the Green and White, as they hit 19 of 28 shot attempts (68 percent) in the final half to coast to the victory. In addition to shooting 59 percent for the game, Bethany posted a narrow 34-32 advantage on the boards and also forced 27 Adrian turnovers for the game.
With his 25 points, Matt Drahos, who also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, went over 1,300 career points and now sits in sixth place on the all-time scoring list with 1,317. His brother Mike chimed in with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Also reaching double figures was sophomore guard Brody Jackson, who notched a career-high 11, and junior forward James Wallace who added 10 markers.
Other highlights to the win was senior point guard Scott Mezyk giving out eight assists and junior guard Chris Stephens finishing with eight points, five rebounds and a career-high six steals.
Adrian was led by guard Ryan Gallus, who hit four three-pointers on his way to 22 points.
Bethany College vs Adrian College 11/18/05 6:00 p.m. at Horsburgh Gymnasium, Cleveland, Ohio At Horsburgh Gymnasium, Cleveland, Ohio BETHANY COLLEGE 83, ADRIAN COLLEGE 54 BETHANY COLLEGE (1-0) Matt Drahos 11-20 2-3 25; Mike Drahos 7-7 2-2 17; Brody Jackson 3-8 3-6 11; James Wallace 4-5 2-6 10; Chris Stephens 4-4 0-0 8; Josh Polantz 3-4 0-0 6; Scott Mezyk 1-6 0-0 2; Marc Palermo 1-4 0-0 2; Joe Sprumont 1-1 0-0 2; Marcus Adams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-59 9-17 83. ADRIAN COLLEGE (0-1) Ryan Gallus 8-12 2-6 22; Andy Kubish 2-3 1-2 6; Steve Thornton 3-7 0-0 6; Mike Reinhard 2-2 0-0 5; David Cultra 2-4 0-1 5; Matt Luthardt 2-6 0-1 4; Billy Collins Jr 1-8 0-0 2; Brandon Giles 1-3 0-0 2; Corey Smith 1-4 0-0 2; Ian Weber 0-2 0-0 0; Mark Bohlen 0-2 0-0 0; Nick Clark 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 3-10 54. Bethany College............... 39 44 - 83 Adrian College................ 24 30 - 54 3-point goals-Bethany College 4-17 (Brody Jackson 2-7; Mike Drahos 1-1; Matt Drahos 1-4; Josh Polantz 0-1; Scott Mezyk 0-3; Marc Palermo 0-1), Adrian College 7-18 (Ryan Gallus 4-6; Mike Reinhard 1-1; Andy Kubish 1-1; David Cultra 1-2; Brandon Giles 0-1; Corey Smith 0-1; Billy Collins Jr 0-2; Matt Luthardt 0-4). Fouled out--Bethany College-Marcus Adams, Adrian College-None. Rebounds-Bethany College 34 (Matt Drahos 9), Adrian College 32 (Steve Thornton 7). Assists-Bethany College 22 (Scott Mezyk 8), Adrian College 13 (Ryan Gallus 3; David Cultra 3; Matt Luthardt 3). Total fouls-Bethany College 18, Adrian College 17. A-134