Cats Look to Bounce Back with Game at Oakland City
MCKENZIE, Tenn. – After dropping two conference games in recent days, the Bethel Wildcats look to bounce back against non-conference foe Oakland City traveling to the Johnson Center in Oakland City, Indiana Tuesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Wildcats are 5-3 overall and 1-3 in the MSC. OCU is 1-9. The Mighty Oaks are 1-3 at home. Oakland City has dropped six straight games.
Media coverage & Links:
Live Video:
https://gomightyoaks.com/sports/2021/8/24/mighty-oaks-live.aspx
Live Stats:
https://gomightyoaks.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Last Game:
BU: The Wildcats dropped their second in a row as a result of a hard fought 72-68 loss at Campbellsville Saturday afternoon. The last five minutes had a bit of everything, including technical fouls, missed opportunities and turnovers for both sides.
The Wildcats shot 32 percent in the first half while the Tigers shot 43 percent from the floor in the first twenty minutes. The Tigers owned a 33-24 lead at the break. Arafat Shaibu led the Wildcats with 12 first half points.
The second half saw both squads making big plays and after several ties it was apparent the game would go down to the wire.
The Cats got two big baskets from senior Jarred Walker to take a 52-49 lead with nine minutes left. The Tigers then outscored the Wildcats 13-2 to take a 62-54 margin. After CU took a 68-59 lead, the Wildcats fought back to cut the deficit to just two points. The rally came after technical fouls were called on the Tigers. A bit of emotions broke out after a Jon Brown basket that had cut the CU led to 68-61. Foul shots later, the Cats pulled to within two at 68-66. Campbellsville would hold on however and move to 9-3 overall and 2-2 in the MSC. The Wildcats dropped to 5-3 and 1-3. CU leads the overall series between the two at 5-2.
Bethel shot 24-of-71 from the floor at 33 percent. The Tigers hit 22- of -54 attempts at 42 percent. Both teams struggled from outside hitting five three-pointers each. Campbellsville had a 41-38 rebound advantage.
Drew Thomas led Bethel with 16 points. Shaibu followed with 12 while Jarred Walker and Brown finished with 11 points each.
Four Tigers finished in double figures with Malachi De Sousa leading his squad with 15 points.
OCU: The Mighty Oaks are coming off a 72-59 road loss at Alice Lloyd Saturday.
Last Meeting:
Bethel beat the Oaks 74-62 on November 13 in Crisp Arena. Leading 39-35 at the half, the Wildcats outscored OCU 39-27 in the second half. The Cats were sparked by Kamron Rose who came off the bench with 16 points. Bethel's reserves outscored the Mighty Oaks 28-8.
Two other players scored in double-digits for Bethel. Jon Brown led the attack with 23 points. Drew Thomas finished with 11 points. Thomas also pulled down a team high seven rebounds.
Nathaniel Schmittler led the Oaks with a game high 25 points.
Bethel shot 47 percent hitting 30-of-63 attempts from the floor. Oakland City shot 33 percent hitting 21-of-62 attempts from the floor.
Coach Jeff Britt commented on the win. "We knew coming in, this would be a tough game. Schmittler is such a big factor for them. I liked the way we responded, especially in the last ten minutes. Kam (Rose) was the catalyst in that stretch I thought. Jon (Brown) and Drew (Thomas) played well, and we need them to do that to be really good."
Schmittler, Brown and Bethel's Jamarius Mayberry were named to the all-tournament team. Blue Mountain's Tariq Meredith and CUH's Tyron Duncan were also named to the squad.
Cat Scratches:
The Cats are led in scoring by Jon Brown who pops in 13.3 points per game. Drew Thomas is second in scoring at 11.3 tallies per outing. Jamarius Mayberry averages 10.1 points per contest. Kam Rose is almost in double figures at 9.9.
Bethel averages 78.5 and yields 69.0 points per game.
Oak Shades:
The Oaks average 65.6 points per outing. They yield 77.3 per game. Jamarcus Clark leads the squad averaging 15.0 per game. Nathaniel Schmittler follows at 11.2 while Ikechi Ajukwa is good for 10.6 points per game.
The Walker Watch:
After the Campbellsville game, Bethel senior guard Jarred Walker has 369 career assists which is 12th in program history. Jarred has 189 steals which is 6th in the Wildcat record book.
Jon Brown adds to Career Total:
After scoring 11 points versus Campbellsville, Bethel's Jon Brown has 1, 084 career points.
Coach Britt is 14 Wins Shy of 500
Jeff Britt is in his 22nd year as the head men's basketball coach at Bethel University and his 33rd year as a college basketball coach. His record as a head coach is 486-332 and includes 11 seasons with 20-plus wins. Britt is 380 -289 at Bethel.