Jan 21, 2012
Junior James Barton scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the first half, as the Bethany College men's basketball team jumped out a 10-point halftime lead en route to a 78-57 victory over visiting Grove City Saturday afternoon.
Bison junior Reece Mabery hit a three-pointer 16 seconds into the game and BC (16-2, 8-1) never relinquished the lead. The Wolverines (7-10, 3-6) were within one point when Evan Schell cashed in a three to make it 21-20. That's when Barton took over, scoring seven during a 14-4 surge that pushed the Bethany lead to double figures and a pair of Mabery foul shots late in the half made it a 39-29 Bison lead at the break.
Grove City's J.T. Schwartz knocked down a three and a jumper to start the second half, prompting a quick BC timeout. That was followed by another Barton trey and three straight buckets by junior Nick Wilcox and Bethany was back in control. The Green and White put the game out of a reach with a 17-2 blitz midway through the period, which gave them their largest lead of the night at 68-41 and they went to win their third straight overall.
Barton posted his third 20+ point scoring effort of the season by going 7-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-7 from the arc. Wilcox recorded another solid all-around game with 15 points, eight rebounds, five steals and a pair of assists, while Mabery notched 14 points, six boards and three assists.
Completing the double digit scorers was senior British Alexander with 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Wolverines were paced by Christian Durbin with 14 points, while Schwartz and Kris Verderber both tallied 10.
The Bison will head out on the road for their next game, traveling to Geneva Wednesday night for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.