Wildcats Face Georgetown in MSC Quarterfinals
Wildcats Face Georgetown in MSC Quarterfinals
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Bethel Wildcats face an old nemesis in the No. 14 Georgetown Tigers Saturday as they meet in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Mid-South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament in Bowling Green.
The conference tournament begins with three quarterfinal games on Saturday, followed by the semifinals on Sunday and the championship game on Monday night. All games are scheduled to be played at Bowling Green Arena on the campus of Bowling Green High School.
The tournament begins at 2:30 p.m. CT, as Lindsey Wilson (18-10, 6-6) plays Campbellsville (18-10, 3-9) in the first quarterfinal. Georgetown (22-6, 8-4) meets Bethel (17-11, 3-9) at 5 p.m. CT, followed by Cumberlands (22-6, 7-5) and Cumberland (11-16, 3-9) at 7:30 p.m. CT in the nightcap.
The Lindsey Wilson-Campbellsville winner plays Freed-Hardeman in Sunday's first semifinal at 5 p.m. CT. The Bethel-Georgetown winner meets the Cumberland-Cumberlands winner at 7:30 p.m. CT in the final semifinal.
The championship game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT on Monday, March 2.
The tournament champion receives the conference's automatic bid into the NAIA National Tournament later in March.
Freed-Hardeman (27-1, 12-0 in the MSC) earns the bye into the semifinals on Sunday, March 1, as the top seed.
Georgetown (Ky.) is the No. 2 seed, Cumberlands (Ky.) is the third seed, and Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) is the No. 4 seed.
Bethel (Tenn.), Campbellsville (Ky.), and Cumberland (Tenn.) all tied for fifth in the MSC standings this season.
The three teams all posted 2-2 records among one another, forcing the conference's second tiebreaker -- the record against the teams in the standings, starting at the top and working in descending order.
Campbellsville's win over the second-place Georgetown during the regular season gives the Tigers the No. 5 seed. With the last two teams tied, the tiebreaker procedure starts over, and Cumberland is the No. 6 seed based on its head-to-head advantage over Bethel during the regular season.
The Wildcats and the Tigers met twice in January with Georgetown winning in McKenzie 70-66 and 100-62 later in the month in Georgetown.
Chauncey Hughes III leads the Wildcats in scoring at 16.2 points per game. He is 4th in the conference in scoring. The senior from Cario, Illinois is also shooting 84 percent from the foul line which is 3rd in the MSC. Hughes also leads the squad in free throw attempts and made free throws. He leads the Cats in attempted and made three-pointers. Chaucey leads the team in assists and steals. D J Starr averages 13.0 points per outing. Ethan Turner leads the squad in rebounding (6.0) and averages 10 points per game.
The Wildcats are third in the conference in scoring at 79.2 points per game. They yield 77.9 points per game.
The Tigers average 83.8 (2nd MSC) and yield 71.1 points per game.
Isiah Mason is one of five Tigers who averages double figures at 15.5 points per game. GC's Bubba Leavell is the reigning MSC Offensive Player of the Week and averages 10.7 points per game.
For information on tickets, stats, how to watch and directions to the arena, visit:
https://mid-southconference.org/sports/2025/12/14/mscmbb2026tournament.aspx