Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Trevecca men's basketball team (16-8, 8-3 TranSouth) won its fourth straight game Thursday night, knocking off Bethel University (14-10, 4-6) 84-78 at the Trojan Fieldhouse. The Trojans sweep the season series, and now hold a 48-32 edge in the all-time series with the Wildcats.
"A good win for us tonight," said Head Coach Sam Harris. "They're a very physical team, but we hung with them on the boards and got contributions up and down the lineup to get the win."
Michael France scored 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting, including 7-of-11 from three-point range.
JP Nyadaro added 16 points and eight rebounds,
Maliek Daniels contributed 15 points and seven rebounds, and
Marquise Rudolph chipped in 11 points, five rebounds, and seven assists.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with 10 lead changes and two ties. Trevecca's largest lead of the half was six points (22-16) with 11:07 left in the half, and Bethel led by as many as three points (32-29) on a bucket by Jarvis Palmer (24 points) 3:16 before halftime. But the Trojans finished the half on an 8-3 run to take a 37-35 lead into the locker room.
Trevecca wasted little time extending the lead after halftime, scoring the first 11 points of the second half to push the lead to 48-35 with 18:22 left. The Trojans still led by 13 points on a three-pointer by France that made it 56-43 with 14:11 to play, but the Wildcats scored nine unanswered points over the next 2:33 to cut the margin to 56-52 with 11:38 still left on the clock. Bethel would eventually tie the game at 60 on a basket by Caleb Hardy (13 points, 14 rebounds) with 7:16 left. But an 8-0 spurt by Trevecca made it 68-60 with 5:48 to play and the Wildcats would get no closer until the final margin.
"It was a game of runs, no doubt," added Coach Harris. "I thought our defense was good tonight, and like I said before, we had good balance offensively."
The Trojans shot 46% (31-68) from the floor, which included 9-for-22 shooting from three-point range, and knocked down 13-of-19 shots from the line. Bethel shot just 38% (26-69) from the field, 33% (7-21) from beyond the arc, and 63% (19-30) from the stripe. The Wildcats finished with a 47-44 edge on the boards, including 17-12 on the offensive glass.
"We're playing really well right now," added Coach Harris. "But we've got a tough matchup with Cumberland coming up on Saturday. They really handled us at our place last month, so we've got to go to their place and try to get them back."
Saturday, the Trojans travel to Lebanon, Tenn., for a matchup with #RV Cumberland University (17-7, 7-4 TranSouth). The Bulldogs bring a four-game winning streak into Saturday's contest, including a 73-66 win at Blue Mountain Thursday night. Tipoff is at 4 p.m. at the Dallas Floyd Recreation Center.
