BETHEL COLLEGE WILDCATS ARE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT BOUND

BETHEL COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS: Pictured (L-R) are: Front Row: Graduate Assistant Coach Drew Church, Kevin Hartwell, Blake Compton, Patrick Kince, David Lester, Assistant Coach Mark Hester; Second Row: Head Coach Jeff Britt, Eric Schwartz, Myron McCrary, Jason Winfrey, Kade Bosheers, Matt Rooks, Manager John Woods; Third Row: Rian Puckett, Drew Woods, Derrick Scales, Steve Smith, Paul Matthews, Kwame Smith.

For the first time in their history, the Bethel College men’s basketball team will be making an appearance in the NAIA National Tournament. On Saturday night, the third seeded Wildcats defeated top-seed and host Indiana University Southeast 88-84 in the championship of the NAIA East Independent Regional tournament to advance to the big show.

Most probably wouldn’t have given the Wildcats a chance considering they were playing their third tough game in three days, and that IUS had defeated the Cats in both of their previous meetings and that the game was on Indiana Southeast’s home court. However, the Wildcats had revenge on their minds and knew that they had the talent and ability to win the championship and prove the skeptics wrong.

The first half was very tight, as expected, with the lead see-sawing back and forth. Blake Compton and David Lester hit a combined 5 of 8 from three-point range, and the Cats hit on 8 of 13 three-point attempts (61.5%) to open a 44-40 lead by intermission. The Wildcat defense was intense forcing 11 turnovers, picking up 7 steals, and blocking 4 shots in the first half. Bethel did a good job handling the ball, only committing 5 first half turnovers.

Head Coach Jeff Britt stated, “One of the keys to the first half was keeping them off the offensive glass, which we did a good job of and also keeping our composure and looking for good shots.”

The second half was an intense battle. The three-point barrage continued for the Wildcats as Compton hit 3 of 4 attempts, while Matt Rooks and Derrick Scales hit two treys each as the ‘Cats extended their lead to double digits in the half. Indiana Southeast, led by Seniors Shuntell Mells (21 points) and Johnny Coomer (29 points), cut the lead down to 2 points with only :20 seconds left. The Wildcats picked up their level of defense and David Lester rebounded a missed attempt by Coomer. Lester was fouled with :12 left. Lester drained both foul shots to secure the 88-84 triumph.

“In the second half, we discussed continuing to attack the glass and keep them off the boards and limiting the touches for Region Player of the Year Shuntell Mells,” stated Britt. Mells, the leading scorer in the KIAC D-II, scored a tournament high 33 points and pulled down 16 rebounds in their semi-final game against Berea. The Cats limited Mells to 21 points and only 5 rebounds.

The Wildcats, as they have throughout the season, had a balanced scoring attack. Sophomore Blake Compton ended the game with 21 points and 5 assists. David Lester tossed in 13 points. Drew Woods and Myron McCrary netted 11 points and 7 rebounds each, while Senior Steve Smith added 10 points and 4 boards.

Other Wildcats scoring included: Matt Rooks - 9 points; Derrick Scales - 6 points; Kade Bosheers - 5 points; Rian Puckett - 2 points. Led by Lester and Woods’ offensive effort, the Wildcat bench outscored IUS 37-10. Bethel for the game forced 18 turnovers, which led to 17 points, while only committing 11 miscues themselves.

Myron McCrary, a sophomore from Jackson, was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player.
McCrary averaged 17.3 points and 7 rebounds per game in the tournament. McCrary, along with Senior Matt Rooks were named to the All Region Team. Rooks was named to the All-Conference Team.

“Our kinds hung tough, weathered the storm and when IUS threw a punch, we stood our ground, kept our composure and got the ‘w’,” said Britt.

Britt, in only his second year at the helm, has turned around a program that went 8-26 last season and has gone almost 10 years without a winning season.

With the victory, the Wildcats improve to 23-10 on the season and will advance to the NAIA Division II National Tournament at the College of the Ozarks in Branson, MO during the week of March 6-10. Their opponent has yet to be determined.
 

The Lady Rebels met the Southside Lady Hawks on Wednesday of last week while the Rebels faced Bolivar on Friday night. Both teams fell to the higher seeded teams out of District 12-AA.
In the Wednesday game, the Lady Rebels fell behind in the first half, as Southside outscored them 28-8. The second half, the Lady Hawks were able to manage only 30 points to the Lady Rebels 38.

The first quarter, the Lady Hawks took a 21-4 lead over McKenzie, then led 28-8 at intermission. After three, the Lady Hawks led 46-25. The Lady Rebels managed to narrow the margin by nine the final period, but were unable to threaten the Lady Hawks for the victory. Southside won the game 58-46.

Amanda Barnes and Julie Smith led with 14 and 13 respectively. Meagan Bowlin added eight, followed by Kristin Wiggins with four, Mallory Brandon with three, Jessica Johnson with three and Hope Wyder with one. The Lady Rebels ended their season with a 13-14 record.

Friday night the Rebels were overpowered by Bolivar, the number one seed out of District 12-AA. The Tigers who entered the game with a 25-4 record were able to take a significant lead in the second quarter and the game was theirs from that moment on. The first quarter, both teams had difficulty in scoring as the game was tied at eight after one period of action. However, the second quarter, while the Rebels scored only eight more, the Tigers added 22 points to their total to lead 30-16 at intermission. After three, Bolivar led 51-23 and then won the contest 70-32. Rory Lacey hit a single three-pointer and led with 11 points, followed by Brandon Trull with six, John Howell with five, Jonathan Adkisson with four, John French with a three-pointer, Chris Stephens with two and Daniel Duncan with one. The Rebels ended their season with a 13-14 record.
 

The West Carroll Lady War Eagles took a solid victory Thursday night in semi-final action over Big Sandy's Lady Red Devils. In a game which was never really in doubt for West Carroll four of the Lady War Eagles were in double figures in the 61-47 victory.

West Carroll came out hitting well and continued to do so throughout their game from the field and hit 21 of 29 attempts from the charity stripe. The win improved their overall record to 12-14. In the first quarter, the Lady War Eagles took a 21-12 lead as Jessica Murphy hit a three-pointer and led with nine total points, followed by Brittany Baker with seven, April Patterson with four and Ruth Forrest with one. Bethany Holland hit a three-pointer for the Lady Devils, followed by Kendall Dodd with a three-pointer and Randi Payne and Kim Armstrong with two each. The second quarter, the lead improved as Patterson led West Carroll with four, followed by Rachel Arnold with three, Murphy and Forrest with two each and Baker with one. Jessica Kennedy led Big Sandy with three while Dodd and Holland scored two each. At intermission, West Carroll led 33-19.

The second half, the Lady Red Devils scored much better, particularly when Coach Roy Grant pulled as many starters as his bench allowed. With Lady War Eagle starters returning to the game, the pace slackened for Big Sandy and their bench saw about 30 seconds of action. The third period, Arnold and Murphy each led with six points for West Carroll while Velma Carter hit a three-pointer and Patterson and Baker added two each. Dodd scored four to lead Big Sandy, Armstrong added two and April Goforth and Holland scored one each. After three, West Carroll led 52-27. The final period, Coach Grant attempted to give his bench some action, but was forced to return starters to the game as Big Sandy's remained in the game and began to narrow the margin significantly. Holland led all scorers with nine while Dodd hit a three-pointer and added seven and Kennedy scored four. Patterson and Carter led the Lady War Eagles with three each while Murphy scored two and Arnold added one. West Carroll won the game, 61-47.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:
WEST CARROLL: Jessica Murphy 19, April Patterson 13, Brittany Baker 10, Rachel Arnold 10, Velma Carter 6, Ruth Forrest 3.
BIG SANDY: Bethany Holland 17, Kendall Dodd 16, Jessica Kennedy 7, Kim Armstrong 4, Randi Payne 2, April Goforth 1.
 

The first quarter, Crystal Fuller led the Fillies with six, followed by Kodia Tharpe with five, Lakeah Lockhart with four and Ashlee Lockhart and Brandi Melton with two each. Kathy Doupis and Hannah Kee each hit a three-pointer for the Lady Tigers while Whitney Owens scored two of two at the line. After one, Huntingdon led 19-8. The second quarter, L. Lockhart led all scorers with nine points for the Fillies while Fuller contributed four and Milton scored two. Owens and Bianca Jamison scored two each for the Lady Tigers. At intermission, Huntingdon led 34-12.

As the second half began, the Lady Tigers scored better, but were unable to narrow the margin against them. The Fillies by Fuller's six in the third quarter, followed by Tharpe with four and L. Lockhart, Melton and Sharri Smith with two each. Doupis hit two shots from three-point range for the Lady Tigers to lead with six, followed by Kee with a three-pointer and Meagen Sturdivant and Owens with two each. After three, Huntingdon led 50-25. The final period, the Fillies had their best period of the night, adding 23 points to their overall total behind L. Lockhart's eight points, Fuller's six, Brooke Pritchard's four, B. Melton's three and Waneca Melton's two. Sturdivant scored three for the Lady Tigers while Owens added two. Huntingdon won the game, 73-30.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:
HUNTINGDON: Lakeah Lockhart 23, Crystal Fuller 22, Brandi Melton 9, Kodia Tharpe 9, Brooke Pritchard 4, Ashlee Lockhart 2, Waneca Melton 2, Sharri Smith 2.
HOLLOW ROCK-BRUCETON: Kathy Doupis 9, Whitney Owens 8, Hannah Kee 6, Meagen Sturdivant 5, Bianca Jamison 2.