Wildcats Return to League Action Visiting Tennessee Southern Thursday
PULASKI, Tenn. -After four straight non-conference victories, the Bethel Wildcats jump back into league action with a visit to Tennessee Southern Thursday night. The tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. The women's game scheduled at 6 p.m. was postponed by UTS earlier in the week.
The Cats take a 9 -3 mark to Pulaski while the home standing FireHawks are 8-3. UTS has won three straight and sports a 4-1 home record. Bethel is 1-2 on the road.
Series:
It will be 32nd game between the two programs. UTS leads the series 21-10. The Hawks have won 11 of the 16 games played in Pulaski. Due to Covid, the teams met only once in the 2020 season. The two met January 2nd in Pulaski with the Hawks winning 102-86.
Last Time Out:
Bethel
The Wildcats won their 4th straight with an 87-78 road victory at Crowley's Ridge Tuesday night. The Cats remained unbeaten all-time versus the Pioneers at 8-0. Bethel moved to 9-3 on the season while CRC dropped to 1-11. Bethel had beaten CRC earlier this season 102-62 in McKenzie.
The Wildcats trailed 16-10 at one point but ripped off 16 unanswered to take a 20-10 margin with 12 minutes left in the first half. The Wildcats would lead by as many as 14 at 38-24 later but CRC rallied to pull to within 42-37 at the break. Hayden Thomas came off the bench to lead Bethel with 13 points in the half.
Bethel maintained the lead throughout the second half and appeared to have control of the game for the most part. CRC cut the lead to 78-71 with 2:30 left but the Cats would not fold winning by 11.
Both teams shot 47 percent from the field. The Wildcats knocked down eight three-pointers while CRC hit just three. Bethel had a 34-31 advantage in rebounds. The Cats are 9-1 when they out rebound their opponents. Bethel had 26 assists in the game.
Drew Thomas led Bethel with 21 points. Hayden Thomas finished with 20 points. Latrell Carter also came off the Wildcat bench with 14 points and seven rebounds. Jamarius Mayberry had a team high nine rebounds and finished with nine points. Jarred Walker had a team high five assists and scored nine points. Walker has 383 career assists which is 11th all-time in program history.
Coach Jeff Britt commented, "We knew this would be a different kind of game than what we had with them at our place. Chris (Perkins) does a good job with his program, and they are much better than their record indicates. I though Hayden and Latrell both gave us big lifts off the bench. We are pleased with the victory and now will go home and rest our legs for a tough battle Thursday at UTS."
UTS:
UTS defeated Dalton State with a 65-56 home win this past Saturday. Tad Sivley led the Hawks with 19 points. Brady Brown finished with a double-double tossing in 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Last Meeting:
The Wildcats dropped a road decision at Martin Methodist January 2nd falling 102-86 to the RedHawks in Pulaski.
Bethel shot 51 percent (31-60) from the floor, but the difference proved to be the red-hot shooting of the Hawks. MMC shot a blistering 61 percent (44-72) from the field. The Hawks also connected on 13 three-pointers while Bethel was 4-of- 14 from behind the arc. Bethel was 20-of-27 from the foul line while the Hawks were just 1-of-4 from the charity stripe. Bethel outrebounded MMC 32-29.
MMC led 53-38 at the half. Another key factor proved to be in bench points as MMC had a 46-22 advantage in points off the bench.
Bethel's Chandler Clements led all scorers with 28 points. Kamron Rose followed with 15 points while Jarred Walker finished with 13 points. Darrin Jenkins led the Hawks with 26 points. He was one of five RedHawks who finished in double figures.
Cat Scratches:
The Wildcats average 80.3 points per game and yield 67.4. Bethel outrebounds their opponents 41-29 and is 9-1 when they win the battle of the boards.
Drew Thomas and Jon Brown share scoring honors pumping in 11.5 points per game. Kamron Rose averages 11.1 point per outing while Jamarius Mayberry pumps in 10.4 per game.
Hawk Flights:
UTS averages 71.4 and yields 68.2 points per game.
Mohamed ElGohary leads the team in scoring at 15.6 points per game. Kavion Hancock is good for 13.6 points while Adarion Hudson is averaging 12.0 points per game. The 4th player in double figures for UTS is Brady Brown at 11.9.
Dugan Lyne is in his fourth season as head coach. He is in his 10th season overall with the University of Tennessee Southern men's basketball program and his 14th year overall in collegiate coaching.
The Walker Watch:
Jarred Walker has 383 assists which is 11th all-time in program history. He is 5th all-time in steals with 196.
Jon Brown adds to Career Total:
Combining his play at West Florida and Bethel, Jon Brown is a member of the 1,000 Point Club with 1, 120 career points. In his twenty games as a Wildcat, he has scored 260 points.
Coach Jeff Britt- Countdown to 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 490-332 and includes 11 seasons with 20-plus wins. Britt is 384-289 at Bethel.
Media coverage & Links:
Live Stats:
https://utsfirehawks.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/boxscores/20211216_sjw9.xml
Live Video
https://utsfirehawks.com/watchlive