Wildcats Face Bears in Ohio
PORTSMOUTH, OH– The Bethel Wildcats hit the road to Ohio Thursday to battle the Shawnee State Bears. Action is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. CST in Portsmouth.
Live stats:
https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/boxscores/20220210_9xkz.xml
Live video:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/shawneest/
The Wildcats are 11-14 overall and 3-14 in the MSC. SSU is 13-12 and 7-11. The Bears sport a 7-6 home record while Bethel is 4-6 on the road this season.
It will be the third meeting between the two with SSU leading the series 2-0.
Monday, the Bethel Wildcats battled back from a 12-point deficit in the second half to grab a 70-69 lead over the visiting Freed-Hardeman Lions but a four and a half minute scoring drought late in the game proved to be the undoing of the Wildcats. FHU seized the opportunity, scoring eight unanswered. Bethel had several late chances, but the Lions prevailed winning 79-72.
Back in January Shawnee State used a 27-10 run in the last nine minutes of the first half to grab a 41-25 lead over the Wildcats at the break. The Cats could never close the gap in the second half and lost 73-54.
The 54-point performance marked the third straight game Bethel had set a mark for fewest points in a game on the season.
Bethel shot just 32 percent from the floor and were able to connect on just four of 18 three-point attempts. SSU shot 43 percent and knocked down 10 three pointers.
Hayden Thomas had a career high 20-point performance for Bethel. Kam Rose finished with 11 points and a game and career high 17 rebounds. Bethel had a 41-38 rebound advantage.
Jaiden Guice had a team high 16 points for SSU.
Bethel's Jarred Walker enters the game with 419 career assists which is 11th all-time in program history. He is 3rd all-time in steals with 215. Walker is one steal away from catching former Bethel great Scott Hamm for second who had 216. Walker's 14 points versus FHU gave him 994 career points. Thirty players have scored 1,000 points or more in a Wildcat uniform.
Trends & Numbers:
Bethel is 8-0 when they outshoot their opponents.
The Cats are 8-4 when they hit more three-pointers.
The Wildcats are 11-9 when they outrebound their opponents.
Bethel is 7-5 when they have less turnovers.
The Cats are 10-4 when they lead at the half.
Coach Jeff Britt commented, "As always we expect two tough games on this trip. This league is tough top to bottom. We must keep playing hard and embrace the challenge. No one is going to feel sorry for you, so it is up to us to close out our regular season on a high note."
Bethel travels to No. 8 Thomas More Saturday.