Jan 23, 2013
After making just nine three-pointers in its last two losses, the Bethany College men's basketball team sank 14 triples en route to posting a 90-49 victory at Geneva Wednesday night to improve to 7-3 in the PAC.
The game was close for the first 10 minutes of the first half, as there were four ties and three lead changes. Geneva's Matt Lorello accounted for the final tie when he buried a jumper to even the count at 13-13 with 11 minutes left in the half. Bison senior Reece Mabery then spearheaded a run of 16 consecutive points, as he scored 10 during the spurt. Late in the half, treys from junior Tyrone Smothers (Baltimore, Md./Merganthaler) and Mabery extended the lead to 21 points and the margin sat at 45-28 going into intermission.
The Bison continued to roll in the second half. Already comfortably ahead by 19, BC ripped off a 24-3 burst to extend their lead to 79-41. Mabery hit for five more in the stretch and junior Leslie Addy dropped in seven in the run. Bethany would shoot 61 percent in the second half and 10 different players scored as the Green and White tallied 90 points for the seventh time this season.
The balanced BC offense featured three in double digits, led by Mabery, who fired in 18 and added four assists and three steals. Addy scored 14 and junior Kevin Jackson chipped in 10 points off the bench. Junior Lawrence Weldon had nine points and matched Mabery for team-high honors with four assists, while senior Nick Wilcox made five steals, which helped the Bison force 24 Geneva turnovers.
The leading scorer for the Golden Tornadoes (2-16, 2-8) was center Matt Lorello. The leading scorer in the PAC, he finished the night with 18 points.
Bethany will be back on the court Saturday when it hosts Grove City at 4 p.m.