GREENSBURG, Pa. – Sophomore James Barton (Bethel Park, Pa.) led four scorers in double digits with 18 points as the Bethany College men’s basketball women their fourth straight with an 82-61 non-conference victory Wednesday night at Pitt-Greensburg.
The win raised the Bison’s record to 18-6 this year, which is the most wins in the regular season by a BC team since winning 18 games in the 2006-07 campaign. The Bobcats dropped to 8-16 for the year.
Bethany dominated from the start, scoring the first nine points of the contest and racing out to a 20-6 lead after eight minutes. Pitt-Greensburg scored eight straight to get back into the game and were within six at 32-26 with three minutes to go before halftime. The Bison would seize control heading into the locker room, as they scored 11 of the final 15 points of the half, capped by a three-pointer from freshman Leslie Addy (Columbia, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) that made it a 43-30 Bethany lead at intermission..
The opening half featured huge efforts from Barton, who swished three three-pointers on his way to 15 points, while sophomore Nick Wilcox (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) fired in 13. The Bobcats, who turned it over 12 times in the first half, were led by David Palmer with 12 points at the break.
Bethany’s lead was never smaller than 13 in the second half, as the Green and White scored 15 points off UPG turnovers and continued to dominate the offensive glass. They used a season-high 20 offensive boards to post 22 second-chance points.
Barton’s big opening half propelled him to a team-high 18 points, with Wilcox was right behind at 17 markers. Junior British Alexander (Dayton, Ohio/Trotwood Madison) now has back-to-back double-doubles and six this season after registering 16 points and 15 boards, as well as four blocked shots and three steals. Sophomore Brady Pacific (Avonmore, Pa./Kiski Area) rounded out the top scorers with 11 points.
Leading UPG was Palmer with a game-high 20 points and Josh Kucenic and Larry Bigante with 14 apiece.
The regular season will come to an end Saturday for the Bison when they go out on the road to face their long-time rival Washington & Jefferson at 4 p.m. Bethany needs a win or a Saint Vincent loss at Thomas More Saturday to secure the #2 seed and possibly two home games in next week’s PAC Tournament.
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