Addy/Young Power Men's Hoops Past Grove City
Feb. 1 - GROVE CITY, Pa. - Combining to shoot 54.5% from the field (12-of-22) and 6-of-9 from three-point range, senior Leslie Addy (Columbia, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) and sophomore Ramel Young (Walterboro, S.C./Estill) helped lead the Bethany men's basketball team (16-4, 9-2 PAC) to a 73-66 victory over Grove City on Saturday.
Grove City started the game on fire, hitting three of their first four three-point shots to jump out to an 11-3 lead with 14:26 to play in the first stanza. Bethany would quickly counter with an 8-0 run of its own to tie the game at 11-11. Addy notched four points in the run, including a three pointer with 12:42 to play, which tied the game.
The programs would then find themselves tied two more times, with the second tie coming at 18-18 with 6:26 to play in the first half. The Wolverines would then go on a 7-2 run to open a five-point lead (25-20) on a three by Mitch Marmelstein with 3:51 to go.
Bethany would quickly respond, outscoring the Wolverines 13-2 over the final 3:51 of the first half to take a 33-27 lead into the break. Young was the big catalyst in the run, notching seven of the team's 13 tallies.
In the first half, the Bison used their pesky defense to force Grove City into 13 turnovers. Bethany converted those into 16 points off of turnovers to help them take the six-point advantage into the break.
In the second half of play, Bethany would open the lead up to as many as 14 points (50-36) on a three by Tyrone Smothers (Baltimore, Md./Mergenthaler) with 14:26 to go. Over the next eight minutes, the lead would fluctuate between 12 and eight points on multiple occasions.
With the Bison up 12 (62-50) with 6:47 remaining, Grove City went on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes. All seven points came from Brian Giesler, who drained two three-point baskets. The second of the two came with 4:21 to play and cut the Bethany lead to five points (62-57).
Neither team would score over the next three minutes, beforeSmothers stole a pass and took it the length of the floor to extend the Bethany lead to seven (64-57) with 1:13 to play.
Over the last minute of the contest, the Bison would keep Grove City at bay by converting on seven-of-10 free throw attempts. Bethany would extend the advantage to 73-63 before going on for the seven-point victory.
Offensively, the Bison received big nights from both Young and Addy. Young finished the day with a double-double, tying a career high in points (18) and finishing with 10 rebounds. Addy also registered 18 points on the day, which included hitting 5-of-8 from behind the three-point line. Lawrence Weldon (Baltimore, Md./Poly) and Delonte' Joyce (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) each finished with 12, while Smothers added eight.
The Bison continued to hound their opponents on the defensive end of the floor, as they totaled 11 steals. It was the 15th time this season that Bethany has registered at least 10 steals in a game.
Bethany will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 5, when they travel to New Wilmington, Pa. to take on Westminster College. The game is set for an 8 p.m. tip.