Wildcats Rally but Drop Home game to UTS
MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Bethel Wildcats returned home Saturday to face Tennessee Southern for the second time on the season. The two met in December in Pulaski with UTS winning 69-62.
For the second game in a row, the Wildcats fell behind and staged a strong rally that fell short. UTS led by as many as 23 with 11:44 left in the game. Bethel rallied to cut the deficit to eight but would fall 91-84.
The Cats fell to 11-13 overall and 3-13 in the MSC. UTS improved to 18-7 and 13-4.
The Wildcats shot 45 percent from the floor while UTS shot 55 percent from the field. Both squads had good efforts from behind the arc. UTS hit 14 three-pointers while Bethel knocked down 10 treys. Bethel was 14-of-19 from the free throw line. The FireHawks hit 11-of-16 from the charity stripe. The Wildcats had a 33-31 margin in rebounding.
Bethel's Jarred Walker had a game high 19 points. Walker also had two steals and two assists. He finished the game with 416 career assists which is 11th all-time in program history. He is 3rd all-time in steals with 214. Walker is two steals away from catching former Bethel great Scott Hamm who had 216. Drew Woods is the all-time leader with 264. Freshman LaDarrius Chigano had career highs with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Hayden Thomas had 16 points while Tyreek Montgomery finished with 11 points.
UTS had four players in double figures with Kavion Hancock leading the Hawks with 18 points.
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 11-8 when they outrebound their opponents.
Bethel is 7-4 when they have less turnovers.
The Cats are 10-4 when they lead at the half.
Coach Jeff Britt commented, "We dug a hole in the first half and despite a great effort in the second half we just could not overcome that early deficit. Give UTS a lot of credit. They are definitely a national tournament team. We just need to keep grinding a stay positive." Britt added, "LaDarrius was a bright spot. His ceiling is very high, and we look for him to keep improving."
The Cats host rival Freed-Hardeman Monday at 8 p.m. Bethel won 79-77 at Freed earlier this season.
Catch the action on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com.
Live Stats:
https://bethelathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/boxscores/20220205_so69.xml
Live video:
https://bethelathletics.com/WildcatStreaming
