CLEVELAND, MS – The Bethel Wildcats stepped out of regular season play with an exhibition at Delta State in Cleveland, Mississippi Tuesday night. In a tight game from start to finish the Wildcats shocked the Statesmen 66-61.
The Statesmen dropped to 3-7 on the season. The Wildcats remained 8-5 since the contest was deemed as an exhibition by Bethel.
The Walter Sillers Coliseum crowd saw a close first half which featured four ties and 13 lead changes. The Statesmen led by only one 31-30 at the break. Bethel's Isaac Edmondson led all scorers with 15 points in the first twenty minutes.
The game remained tight until DSU pulled away and led 46-38 with 11:36 left in the game. The Wildcats refused to fold however and battled their way back to within two at 50-48 with 7:47 left.
The Statesmen moved out to a 54-48 lead but five straight points by Edmondson pulled Bethel to within in one at 54-53 with 5:45 left.
A Charles Cobb steal, basket and free throw gave Bethel a 56-54 lead. Noah Chatman's basket made it 58-54 with 4:09 remaining.
Two free throws by DSU cut Bethel's lead to 58-56. Aden Burton's jumper pushed Bethel out to a 60-56 advantage with 2:44 left. DSU hit one of two free throws and it was 60-57 with 2:17 remaining.
Chase Nappier hit a lay-up on an assist from Burton to give Bethel a 62-57 margin. Chatman put Bethel ahead 64-57 with a lay-up with 1:05 left.
A late flurry by DSU tighten the game at 64-61 with 18 seconds left. The Statesmen missed a three-pointer to tie and Bethel's Edmondson pulled down the rebound and was fouled. His two free throws with two seconds left iced the game at 66-61.
Edmondson finished with a game high 30 points. Nappier followed with 12 points and six assists. Chatman pulled down a team high 10 rebounds. PJ Davis led DSU with 19 points.
Bethel had a 41-38 advantage in rebounds. The Wildcats shot 40 percent hitting 25-of-63 shots. They hit five three's and were 11-of-16 from the foul line. DSU shot 44 percent on 24-of-55 from the field. They hit four three's and were 9-of-20 from the free throw line.
Coach Jeff Britt expressed his thoughts about the victory. "I am very proud of how our kids played tonight. They followed the game plan and I feel like we learned from our last game. We have two very tough games coming up with Faulkner on Saturday and Dalton State on Monday. Hopefully we can use these next three days in practice to get better."
Bethel jumps back into regular season and conference action hosting the Faulkner Eagles at 4 p.m. Faulkner is 10-1 and 2-0 in SSAC play. Catch the game on WEIO, 100.9 and at: www.thefarmradio.com.
The game will also be available on Wildcat Vision at: www.bethelathletics.com.
