NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Bethel Wildcats battled to the very end Saturday against Loyola in New Orleans but came up shot falling to the Wolfpack 80-74. The Wildcats played without their leading scorer Isaac Edmondson who sat out the game with an injury.
Bethel fell to 14-12 overall and 7-7 in the SSAC. Loyola improved to 14-9 and 10-3.
The Wildcats trailed 39-31 at halftime. Charles Cobb led the Wildcats with 10 points in the half. They hit six of their nine three's in the first half to stay close in the contest. LU had two more baskets than Bethel (14-12) and were 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Bethel shot only one free throw in the half.
Behind the scoring of Chase Nappier, Cayden Edmonson and Javonte Ellis the Wildcats fought back and took the lead on several occasions in the second half but Loyola came back to win. Cobb suffered a second half injury and did not score in the half.
Bethel finished the game with five more field goals than the home team but free throws were a different matter. Loyola was 29-of-36 while Bethel was 7-of- 12 from the line. Loyola outrebounded the Wildcats 43-39 and had a 34-19 advantage in bench points. Loyola was 3-of-12 with their three point attempts. The Wildcats were 9-of-24 from behind the arc. They shot 39 percent from the floor hitting 29-of-73 attempts from the floor. Loyola was 24-of - 55 at 43 percent from the field.
Nappier led Bethel with 17 points with 12 of those in the second half. Cobb finished with 10 points. Edmonson had 11 and Javonte Ellis had 12 points.
Benjamin Fields led the Pack with 17 points. Nick Parker had 16 to aid the LU cause.
Coach Jeff Britt expressed how proud of his team he was. "I thought our young men played really hard from start to finish. We showed a lot of fight and I am really proud of each of them. We are concerned about Isaac and Charles and their injuries. We hope they are not out for the season. That is a possibility.
Bethel closes out their regular season with three games at home. They meet Middle Georgia State Thursday in Crisp Arena. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.
The game will be carried on WEIO, 100.9 and available at www.thefarmradio.com. Video will be available on Wildcat Vision at www.bethelathletics.com.
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