PULASKI, Tenn. – The Bethel Wildcats staged a remarkable comeback Thursday night at Martin Methodist but in the end fell as the Hawks hit a three at the buzzer to edge the Cats 78-76. MMC led Bethel 70-56 with 5:50 remaining but Bethel fought back to grab a 76-75 lead with 19 seconds left. Javonte Ellis on an in-bounds pass from Jarred Walker hit a short jumper to give Bethel the lead but Felix Hayes hit a 25 footer to hand the Hawks the win.
The Wildcats led at the half 35-31 but saw MMC outscore them 47-41 in the second half.
Bethel was 29-of-59 from the field at 49 percent. The Cats hit six three's but hit just 12-of-19 free throws. They had 10 assists and committed 17 turnovers. MMC had a 35-32 advantage in rebounds.
Martin Methodist shot 53 percent hitting 33-of-62 shots. They hit six three-pointers and hit just 6-of-11 foul shots. The Hawks had 10 assists and committed 19 turnovers.
Jarred Walker led Bethel with 19 points. He hit several second half three's in the Cat comeback and was 4-of-4 in three-point attempts. Javonte Ellis was also huge in the comeback with all 17 of his points in the second half. Cayden Edmonson finished with 14 points while Noah Chatman had 12 points and a team high five rebounds. Cameron Ricks finished in double digits with 11 points.
Hayes led MMC with 22 points. He hit four three-pointers on the night.
The Wildcats dropped to 10-6 overall and 2-3 in the SSAC. The Hawks moved to 10-5 and 3-2.
Coach Jeff Britt commented, "I am proud of our comeback but give Martin Methodist credit. They have a really good squad and hit some big shots including the game winner to prevail. We cannot get our heads down as we have a tough game at Dalton State Saturday."
The Cats resume play Saturday afternoon at Dalton State with tip-off at 1 p.m. There will be no local radio.
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