The win was also the Bison’s sixth straight game with at least 90 points scored, a school record. In addition, by going over the 100-point plateau, BC tied a school-record set last year with seven 100-point games in a season.
Thiel came out playing a 2-3 zone against the Bison and the Green and White took advantage, as they buried 8-of-16 attempts from three-point land in building a 45-33 lead by intermission. The key stretch came early in the contest, when Thiel was only down 9-6. That’s when senior forward Mike Drahos hit a three, which was followed by senior guard Josh Polantz completing a four-point play after he was fouled while draining a triple.
Sophomore guard Brody Jackson then knocked down a trifecta on the next possession to put BC in front 19-6. Thiel managed to get within seven at 28-21 with nine minutes to go before halftime but that was answered with a three-ball from Jackson and the Bison would go on to build their halftime margin to a dozen.
Six different Bison knocked down threes in the opening half, as the offense, which was led by Jackson and senior guard Scott Mezyk with eight points each, shot 51.7 percent. Thiel stayed close by hitting 51.9 percent of their shots but only two-of-seven from the arc.
The Tomcats managed to hang around for a little bit in the second half, as a three from Tony White made it 58-45 Bison with 14:32 to play. Then the flood gates opened, as back-to-back treys from Polantz was followed by a break-away dunk from senior forward Matt Drahos and BC was off and rolling on a 16-0 blitz that ended the competitive phase of the game.
Not only did the Bison connect on 22-of-36 shots in the second half (61 percent), they also forced 17 of Thiel’s 29 turnovers in the second stanza and converted those into 34 points. Bethany would hit 13-of-27 attempts from the three-point line for the game, the fifth time in the last six games they have hit at least 11 triples.
Pacing the Green and White offense was Matt Drahos, who scored 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field, and Jackson, who fired in 17 and gave out four assists. Polantz came off the bench to contribute 14 markers, while Mike Drahos recorded his 33rd career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. He now has 801 boards for his career and moved him past Stan Kaniecki (797) for third place all-time at the school.
Rounding out BC’s double-figure scorers was Mezyk with 10.
Thiel was led by Damien Williams, who scored 14 of his 20 in the opening half to keep Thiel in the game, and James Beedle, who delivered 12 points off the bench.
The Bison will have a chance to match their pair of 11-game winning streaks they recorded last year when they host Westminster College on Saturday at 4 p.m. The last time the two teams got together Jan. 16, Bethany scored 140 points to break the school record for points in a game, while Matt Drahos tallied 49 to surpass the College’s individual scoring record.
Bethany College vs Thiel College 1-25-06 8 p.m. at Greenville, Pa. - Beeghly Gym At Greenville, Pa. - Beeghly Gym BETHANY COLLEGE 102, THIEL COLLEGE 64 BETHANY COLLEGE (15-4, 6-0) Matt Drahos 10-14 5-6 25; Brody Jackson 7-12 0-1 17; Josh Polantz 4-6 2-3 14; Mike Drahos 4-8 3-6 12; Scott Mezyk 4-8 0-0 10; Chris Stephens 3-5 2-2 9; Marc Palermo 2-4 0-0 5; Nate Stoner 2-3 0-0 5; Matt Kubachka 1-2 0-0 2; James Wallace 0-0 2-2 2; Marcus Adams 0-0 1-2 1; Bill Grant 0-2 0-0 0; Joe Sprumont 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-65 15-22 102. THIEL COLLEGE (2-16, 0-6) Damien Williams 10-20 0-0 20; James Beedle 4-6 1-2 12; Gary Gates 2-3 2-2 7; Geno Bianco 3-5 0-0 6; Tony White 2-2 0-0 5; Stephen Laird 1-1 3-4 5; Brad Bowman 2-5 0-0 4; Steffon Radcliff 0-3 3-4 3; Andre Jones 0-1 2-3 2; Jeffrey Zelonka 0-0 0-0 0; Mike Quaglia 0-2 0-0 0; Dan Quiring 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-48 11-15 64. Bethany College............... 45 57 - 102 Thiel College................. 33 31 - 64 3-point goals-Bethany College 13-27 (Josh Polantz 4-6; Brody Jackson 3-5; Scott Mezyk 2-5; Nate Stoner 1-2; Mike Drahos 1-3; Chris Stephens 1-1; Marc Palermo 1-3; Matt Kubachka 0-1; Matt Drahos 0-1), Thiel College 5-16 (James Beedle 3-4; Gary Gates 1-2; Tony White 1-1; Brad Bowman 0-1; Steffon Radcliff 0-2; Geno Bianco 0-1; Damien Williams 0-5). Fouled out--Bethany College-None, Thiel College-None. Rebounds-Bethany College 30 (Mike Drahos 11), Thiel College 26 (Damien Williams 7). Assists-Bethany College 20 (Marc Palermo 4; Brody Jackson 4), Thiel College 11 (Tony White 5). Total fouls-Bethany College 17, Thiel College 22. A-420 Bethany wins 10th consecutive game and ties school-record for 100-point games in a season.