MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Bethel Wildcats pulled off their biggest win of the season Saturday coming from behind to beat No. 17 William Carey 79-73 at Crisp Arena.
The Wildcats trailed the Crusaders by 13 with just over four minutes left in the first half. At that point things got a little chippy between the squads and it seemed to spark Bethel as they moved to within six at the break to trail 39-33.
Carey outscored the Wildcats 6-2 in the first two minutes of the second half and moved to another double digit lead at 45-35. Bethel stormed back to take a 59-58 lead and the game was on. WCU answered with a 10-2 run and led by seven at 68-61. The Wildcats behind the scoring of Isaac Edmondson outscored the Crusaders 18-5 to close out the game to win by six.
Bethel moved to 14-10 overall and 7-5 in the SSAC. WCU fell to 16-5 and 10-3. It was the fourth road loss for the Crusaders on the year.
Edmondson scored 20 of his 24 points in the decisive second half. Charles Cobb followed with 15 points while Chase Nappier had 11 tallies. Troy Salvant led WCU with 29 points.
William Carey outshot Bethel from the field. They were 23-of-49 at 46 percent from the floor. Bethel was 25-of – 63 at 39 percent. WCU hit six three's while Bethel hit five. WCU was 21-of-27 from the foul line. Bethel was 24-of-30 from the stripe.
The Wildcats were outrebounded in the first half 17-5 but worked the boards well in the second to close that gap to 29-25 for the game. They held WCU to just seven offensive rebounds in the contest. WCU had 30 turnovers.
Coach Jeff Britt was proud of his squad. "I thought our kids battled the entire game. We didn't panic and give up. William Carey is extremely talented and so well coached. Give our young men credit for playing until the very end."
The Wildcats hit the road for their next two games. They travel to Mobile for a Thursday night battle with Mobile. They meet Loyola Saturday in New Orleans.
