PARAGOULD, Ark. – The Bethel Wildcats picked up a road win Saturday in Paragould beating Crowley's Ridge 89-82. The Cats moved to 4-4 with the victory while CRC fell to 2-8. The game was rescheduled from a November 7 date which was postponed.
Bethel leads the series 4-0.
Holding a 20-18 lead, the Wildcats outscored CRC to take a double digit lead at 28-18 with six minutes left in the first half. The Wildcats would lead the remainder of the half and lead 43-34 at the break. Drew Thomas who scored Bethel's first eight points had 12 at the half. Kamron Rose came off the bench with 10 and Chandler Clements had eight at the intermission.
The second half saw CRC rally and lead 67-64 with nine minutes left in the game. Myron McKinney drained a three-pointer to tie the game at 67. The Wildcats would then outscore the Pioneers 22-15 to win. McKinney would hit another key three-pointer after CRC had pulled with three late in the game. Clements led the Wildcats with 20 points. He also had a team high eight rebounds. Thomas had 17 points while Rose finished with 16 points. CRC's K.J. Corder had a game high 24 points.
Both teams shot 44 percent from the field. Bethel hit six three's while the Pioneers connected on eight in the game. Bethel hit 27-of-36 free throw attempts while Crowley's Ridge was 22-of- 32 from the line. Bethel won the battle of the boards at 44-33. Both teams had trouble with turnovers. Bethel had 20 while CRC had 23.
The bench kept the Pioneers in the game with a 47-30 margin. Second chance points proved to be a key for the Wildcats at 21-9. Bethel had a 44-34 advantage in points in the paint.
Coach Jeff Britt said, "Chris (Perkins) does a good job and it is a tough place to play. Playing back to back games isn't easy but we were able to get to the free throw line and for the most part we did a good job there. We also rebounded better and I thought that was a key in the win. We will continue to work hard knowing we need to get better."
The Wildcats are tentatively scheduled to play UTM Tuesday at 2 p.m. A decision will be confirmed Monday morning on the status of the game.
