News Release

WAYNESBURG, Pa. — Bethany College seniors Matt and Mike Drahos both recorded double-doubles and senior point guard Scott Mezyk cashed in six three-pointers, as the Bison (18-4, 9-0) rolled to their 13th consecutive victory Saturday night with an 89-69 win at Waynesburg College (12-9, 5-4).

After only scoring 30 points in the first half of Wednesday’s win over Thomas More College, the Bison offense looked anything but sluggish against Waynesburg, as it opened the game with a 14-2 blitz. Waynesburg would get within six at 19-13 midway through the half, but Mezyk buried a three, which was followed by back-to-back scores from Mike Drahos and a steal and lay-up by sophomore guard Marcus Adams to drive the Green and White lead back up to 28-15 with 8:13 to go before intermission.

Bethany would score eight of the half’s final 11 markers to carry a 46-28 lead into the locker room. The Bison hit 18 of 29 attempts from the floor (62 percent) in the opening 20 minutes and flexed their muscle inside. BC held a 26-8 advantage in points in the paint, as Mike (15) and Matt (13) Drahos were both well into double figures after the opening period.

The start of the second half was the Beau Wilson show. The Yellow Jacket guard tried to bring his team back into the game by scoring 12 of his team’s first 14 points in the final half and his three-pointer at the 16:05 mark sliced the Bison lead to 53-42. Waynesburg was still in the game around the midway point of the half, as a Jeff Linden lay-up made the score 63-51 with 10:35 left.

That’s when the Bison’s three-point talent took the game from being competitive to being over in just a little over a minute. Mezyk banged home his fifth trifecta of the game with 9:48 to go and was followed on consecutive trips down the floor by triples from senior guard Josh Polantz to blow the BC lead out to 72-51 with 8:38 left. The Yellow Jackets never moved closer than 19 points the rest of the way, as the Bison improved their winning streak to the third-longest in school history.

Not only did the Bison finish the game with a decisive 36-14 edge in points in the paint, they also drained 14 three-pointers on the night, which is tied for their second-most of the season. Those numbers allowed the Green and White to overcome a 41-35 disadvantage on the glass, which included Waynesburg grabbing 18 offensive caroms.

Not only was it Bethany’s 13th consecutive victory, it was also the 13th time that Matt and Mike Drahos both recorded double-doubles in the same game. Matt hit on 10-of-14 attempts from the floor and all five of his foul shots to score 27 points and added 10 boards in the game. That gives him 869 rebounds for his career and leaves him 32 away from breaking Phil Harrison’s school-record of 900.

Meanwhile, Mike scored 19 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, handed out three assists and made three steals. But he wasn’t even Bethany’s second leading scorer, as Mezyk’s six threes helped him post 20 points for the game. Leading the way in assists was junior Chris Stephens, who handed out six to go along with his eight points and four rebounds.

Wilson’s early second half explosion helped him finish with 22 markers in the setback, which was Waynesburg’s seventh consecutive to Bethany. Linden was the only other Yellow Jacket in double figures with 15.

Bethany can wrap up the top seed and home court advantage throughout the upcoming PAC Tournament on Wednesday when they travel to Washington & Jefferson College for an 8 p.m. tip-off. W&J is the site of the Bison’s last PAC loss, which came on Jan. 19, 2005, a 66-64 President win. Since then, Bethany has reeled off 19 consecutive victories against conference foes, including the two wins in last year’s PAC Tournament.

Bethany College vs Waynesburg College
02-04-06 7:30 p.m. at Waynesburg, Pa. (Marisa Fieldhouse)
At Waynesburg, Pa. (Marisa Fieldhouse)
BETHANY COLLEGE 89, WAYNESBURG COLLEGE 69
BETHANY COLLEGE (18-4, 9-0 PAC)
Matt Drahos 10-14 5-5 27; Scott Mezyk 7-13 0-0 20; Mike Drahos 8-15 2-3 19;
Chris Stephens 3-4 0-0 8; Josh Polantz 2-3 0-0 6; James Wallace 1-1 2-2 4;
Brody Jackson 1-5 0-0 3; Marcus Adams 1-2 0-0 2; Nate Stoner 0-3 0-0 0; Marc
Palermo 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 33-64 9-10 89.
WAYNESBURG COLLEGE (12-9, 5-4 PAC)
Beau Wilson 9-18 2-2 22; Jeff Linden 5-13 4-6 15; Tim Drakeley 2-5 0-0 6;
Josh Parisi 3-5 0-0 6; Marc Lodovico 2-7 0-0 6; Jeff Nero 1-7 3-4 5; Dan
Happe 1-1 0-0 3; Jered Gamble 1-5 0-0 3; Ryan Bujnowski 1-3 0-1 3; Andy
Erjavek 0-0 0-0 0; Jason Clark 0-0 0-0 0; Colby Grubich 0-2 0-0 0; George
Wasik 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-67 9-13 69.
Bethany College...............   46   43  -   89
Waynesburg College............   28   41  -   69
3-point goals-Bethany College 14-27 (Scott Mezyk 6-9; Chris Stephens 2-2;
Josh Polantz 2-3; Matt Drahos 2-3; Mike Drahos 1-2; Brody Jackson 1-4; Marc
Palermo 0-4), Waynesburg College 10-26 (Marc Lodovico 2-4; Beau Wilson 2-7;
Tim Drakeley 2-4; Jeff Linden 1-4; Jered Gamble 1-2; Ryan Bujnowski 1-2; Dan
Happe 1-1; Jeff Nero 0-2). Fouled out--Bethany College-None, Waynesburg
College-None. Rebounds-Bethany College 35 (Mike Drahos 10; Matt Drahos 10),
Waynesburg College 41 (Jeff Nero 13). Assists-Bethany College 19 (Chris
Stephens 6), Waynesburg College 10 (Beau Wilson 3). Total fouls-Bethany
College 16, Waynesburg College 15. A-675
Bethany wins 13th straight contest, including the last seven against WC.