Feb 08, 2012
Junior James Barton scored 13 of his team-leading 18 points in the second half and the Bethany College men's basketball team used a huge second half to pull away for a 75-44 victory at Waynesburg Wednesday night.
The Bison (19-3, 11-2) were on fire from the arc early, as junior Brady Pacific and sophomore Leslie Addy both hit a pair of treys to spark BC to a 25-14 lead midway through the half. The upset-minded Yellow Jackets (4-18, 1-12) responded with nine straight points to get within a bucket and stayed within striking distance at 32-26 at the half.
In the second half, a lay-up by Jacob Fleegle brought the home team within a basket again at 34-32 with 17:43 to play. The rest of the game was dominated by the Bison and especially Barton. The junior guard went 5-for-5 from the field, including 3-for-3 from the arc, to score 13 points after the break and spark the Green and White. After pushing their lead to 52-39, BC ripped off an 18-2 spurt to put the finishing touches on their 20th consecutive victory over Waynesburg dating back to the 2002-03 season.
Barton finished the game with four three-pointers and 18 points to lead all scorers. Three others reached double digits, including Pacific and junior Nick Wilcox with 13 apiece and Addy with 10 markers. The Bison forced 23 Yellow Jacket turnovers in the victory and held them to only 18 points after the break, which countered a 41-34 Waynesburg rebounding advantage.
The home team was led by Larry Alexander with eight points, which all came in the first half.
Next up for the Bison is a showdown for first place in the PAC Saturday afternoon. Bethany will travel to current league leader Thiel (15-6, 12-2) for a 3 p.m. tip-off in Greenville. The Tomcats won the first meeting with BC 69-57 in mid-January and the winner will have the inside track on the top seed and home court advantage through the PAC Tournament.