W&J Loses To Bethany In Regular-Season Finale; Rematch Set For Tuesday
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Reece Mabery scored a game-high 25 points as Bethany forced 21 Washington & Jefferson turnovers and defeated the Presidents 74-63 in the PAC men’s basketball regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon at the Henry Memorial Center.
The Bison (16-9, 10-6 PAC) scored 21 points off those turnovers and overcame 31 percent shooting in the first half. The Presidents (8-17, 6-10 PAC) will now travel to West Virginia to face Bethany again on Tuesday (7:00 pm) in the PAC Tournament quarterfinals.
The Presidents dominated play early on, jumping out to a 20-9 lead at the 12:34 mark. However, W&J was held without a field goal for the next 10 minutes and only eight points the remainder of the half. Bethany forced a 28-28 halftime tie after Mabery knocked down 1-of-2 free throws with seven seconds left.
Bethany started the second half on a 22-13 run and five-straight points from Mabery pushed the BC advantage to 50-41 at the 11:59 mark.
W&J kept chipping away at the deficit and closed to within three twice in the final six minutes, but Mabery and Nick Wilcox answered both times and the Bison iced the game at the free throw line.
Senior guard Zach Bellhy (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) moved into fourth place on the school’s career list after pouring in 22 points. He moved ahead of Josip Lucic Jozak ’09 on the all-time list after raising his career total to 1,472 points. Sophomore forward Nate Bellhy (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore forward Mitch Locher (Pittsburgh, Pa./Avonworth) added 11 points and six boards.
W&J shot 36 percent (22-of-62) and held a 52-40 rebounding edge. The Presidents were hurt by only making 15-of-27 foul shots.
Wilcox finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Bison, who finished with 36 percent shooting (22-of-61).
The Presidents will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak to the Bison when the teams meet Tuesday night at Nutting Gymnasium.
