MONTGOMERY, Ala. –The Bethel Wildcats dropped a hard fought 74-65 decision to Loyola Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the SSAC Championships in Montgomery. The Cats battled back from a 14-point first half deficit to lead at the half 33-32. Capping off the comeback was a Jamarius Mayberry three pointer at the buzzer to give the Wildcats the one point lead.
Bethel led 58-56 with under five minutes left in the second half but the Pack outscored the Wildcats 18-7 to win by nine.
Loyola won despite shooting 17-of-34 from the free throw line and 3-of-14 from distance. They also held Bethel to 29% overall while shooting 54% in the second half.
Loyola won the rebounding battle at 54-37. The Pack had a 46-20 advantage in points in the paint.
Cameron Ricks led Bethel with 15 points. Javonte Ellis had 14 points and grabbed five boards. Foday Sankaray had 10 points.
No. 6 Loyola got 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists from Tim Cameron and 16 points and 14 rebounds from Myles Burns.
Bethel dropped to 19-12 and will be forced to wait until Wednesday to see if they receive a bid to the national tournament in Kansas City later in the month. No. 4 seeded Loyola improved to 22-9 and will play No. 1 seeded Faulkner Friday at 7 p.m.
Coach Jeff Britt said his team struggled on offense but played hard and battled until the end. "This was a tough loss but our kids played hard and just came up short. We hope this is not our last game especially for our six seniors. They have worked hard for three years and the last three months have been a great indication of that. We will really miss them and wish them the best. We also need to give Loyola credit for a great game."
