Wildcats Get Bounce Back Win
MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Bethel Wildcats looked to bounce back with a win Saturday after losing at Brescia Thursday and they did just that with a hard fought 77-74 win over longtime rival UT-Southern. The Cats moved to 9-2 on the season while UTS dropped to 3-7.
It was the 36th meeting between the two programs dating back when UTS was Martin Methodist. The Firehawks had won four of the last five meetings. UTS leads the series 24-12.
The Wildcats are now 134-55 all-time in Crisp Arena which opened in 2012.
The two squads will face off again January 2 in Pulaski.
The Wildcats led by as many as 12 in the first half. UTS charged back and cut the Bethel lead to seven at 45-38 at the half. UTS took their first lead of the game at 48-47 four minutes into the second half. There would be seven ties and six lead changes before Bethel would hold on for the three point victory.
A key in the game for the Wildcats was points off the bench at 38-12. Chauncey Hughes III had 11 points in a key stretch of the second half. Kendan Maddox also had 11 points while Joe Wimberly with his mother and aunt from Alabama tossed in 12 tallies. Starters Trevor Chatman had 16 points while fellow starter D J Starr had 15 points.
Bethel shot 51 percent from the floor and after struggling from the free-throw line against Brescia in their last game hit 16-of -17 free throw attempts. The Cats won despite being outrebounded 33-26.
UTS shot 44 percent from the floor and struggled from the charity stripe hitting just 11-of 20 attempts. Mark Vance led the Hawks with a game high 22 points. Vance also pulled down eight rebounds.
Coach Jeff Britt was pleased with the effort and win. " I'm proud of a much stronger effort tonight, Coach Sharpe and his kids are a tough group. They will be right in the mix of the Southern States Athletic Conference, hopefully we can learn from a tough win like this and improve our next time we play".
Bethel returns to action Tuesday with a road game in St. Louis at UHSP. The action begins at 5 p.m.
Watch:
https://team1sports.com/prepcasts/
Stats:
https://eutecticsports.com/sports/mbkb/2024-25/boxscores/20241217_u4y4.xml
The Cats play Crowley's Ridge at home Thursday at 11 a.m.