GROVE CITY, Pa. – The Bethany College men’s basketball team (20-4, 11-0) got double-doubles from senior forwards Matt and Mike Drahos, as they extended their winning streak to 15 games and remained perfect in PAC play this season with a 68-52 victory at Grove City College (8-16, 4-7) Wednesday night.
The triumph, which was Bethany’s 21st in a row over conference opposition dating back to last season, also gave BC just the third 20-win season in the 97-year history of the program.
The Wolverines seemed as through they would be up to the challenge early, as they scored the first five points of the game and held leads of 9-5 and 11-7 through the opening seven minutes. After falling behind by four the second time, Bethany countered with six straight to take their first lead at 13-11 before GCC’s John Scheller scored on a lay-up to tie the game with 11:17 to go before halftime.
Bethany owned the rest of the half, as they blitzed the Wolverines with a 25-0 run over the next nine and a half minutes. The Drahos brothers keyed the burst, as Mike scored 11 and Matt tallied nine, while senior point guard Scott Mezyk hit for five to put the BC in front 38-13. Grove City scored the half’s final five points but the Green and White still carried a 38-18 lead into halftime.
The Bison hit on 50 percent (14-28) of their shots in the first half, while limiting GCC to just 32 percent (7-22) shooting and forcing the hosts’ into 13 turnovers. The Drahos duo combined for 25 first half points, with Mike netting 14 of those.
The second half was somewhat sloppy, as the teams combined for 22 field goals and 22 fouls. Bethany extended their lead to 23 on two different occasions and while Grove City would chip away, they never moved closer than 13 points during the final stanza. Even that came following a 6-0 GCC spurt with 1:37 to play and Matt Drahos answered with five straight points to put the finishing touches on Bethany’s seventh straight win over the Wolverines overall and sixth consecutive triumph at Grove City’s College Arena.
Pacing the attack was Matt Drahos, who recorded his fifth consecutive double-double and ninth of the year with 24 points and 10 rebounds. He buried 10-of-15 shots from the floor, while moving ever closer to Phil Harrison’s career rebounding record. Matt now has 893 career rebounds and needs just eight more to surpass Harrison’s mark of 900 he established during his career from 1960-64.
The other half of Bethany’s Twin Towers posted an impressive line for the game, as Mike notched 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, handed out five assists, made four steals and blocked two shots. It was the 10th double-double of the year for the Bison forward and Wednesday’s game was the 14th time in the twins’ careers they have had double figures in scoring and rebounding in the same game.
Those two were joined in double digits by Mezyk, who bucketed 11 points, his 10th straight game with double figures, and junior guard Chris Stephens, who finished with 10 markers. Sophomore guard Brody Jackson handed out five assists to match Mike Drahos for game-high.
Grove City, who was held to just 35 percent shooting in the game, did not have one player score in double digits. The Wolverines leading scorer was Ryan Gerber, who had eight off the bench, while Scheller totaled six, as did Daniel Zacour, who also pulled down a team-best six rebounds.
Bethany will try to finish its perfect PAC season Saturday when it hosts Thiel College for Senior Day. Not only will the Bison try to become the first PAC team since Washington & Jefferson College in 1993-94 to go undefeated in league play but Matt Drahos will try to become the school’s all-time leading rebounder. In addition, it will be the last regular season home game for the Drahos brothers and senior Josh Polantz, who have gone 30-7 at Hummel Field House in their four-year careers. Tip-off on Saturday is slated for 4 p.m.
Bethany vs Grove City 2-15-06 7:30 p.m. at Grove City, Pa. -- Grove City Coll Arena At Grove City, Pa. -- Grove City Coll Arena BETHANY 68, GROVE CITY 52 BETHANY (20-4, 11-0 PAC) Matt Drahos 10-15 4-6 24; Mike Drahos 6-9 1-1 16; Scott Mezyk 4-7 0-0 11; Chris Stephens 4-6 0-0 10; Marc Palermo 1-3 1-2 3; James Wallace 0-3 2-2 2; Marcus Adams 1-3 0-0 2; Bill Grant 0-0 0-0 0; Joe Sprumont 0-1 0-0 0; Nate Stoner 0-0 0-0 0; Carey Palermo 0-0 0-0 0; Josh Polantz 0-6 0-0 0; Brody Jackson 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 8-11 68. GROVE CITY (8-16, 4-7 PAC) Ryan Gerber 3-6 0-0 8; Daniel Zacour 1-5 4-6 6; John Scheller 3-3 0-0 6; Shawn Carr 2-7 0-0 5; Chuck Cotherman 1-5 3-4 5; Ryan Gibson 0-2 4-4 4; Craig Hallman 2-3 0-1 4; Joe Capotosta 1-6 1-2 4; Matt Phillips 2-5 0-0 4; Mark Smith 1-3 1-2 3; Bobby Turner 1-3 1-2 3; Eric Tinstman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-48 14-21 52. Bethany....................... 38 30 - 68 Grove City.................... 18 34 - 52 3-point goals-Bethany 8-25 (Mike Drahos 3-3; Scott Mezyk 3-6; Chris Stephens 2-3; Josh Polantz 0-5; Brody Jackson 0-4; Marc Palermo 0-1; Matt Drahos 0-3), Grove City 4-11 (Ryan Gerber 2-3; Shawn Carr 1-4; Joe Capotosta 1-2; Ryan Gibson 0-1; Mark Smith 0-1). Fouled out--Bethany-None, Grove City-None. Rebounds-Bethany 34 (Matt Drahos 10; Mike Drahos 10), Grove City 33 (Daniel Zacour 6). Assists-Bethany 20 (Brody Jackson 5; Mike Drahos 5), Grove City 9 (Craig Hallman 3). Total fouls-Bethany 22, Grove City 15. A-400 Bethany goes on 25-0 run in first half.