Cats Close Chick-fil-A Classic with Win over CRC
MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Bethel Wildcats moved to 4-0 Saturday with an 85-73 win over Crowley's Ridge. The win came on day two of the 9th Annual Chick-fil-A Classic. The Cats beat Southeastern Baptist 72-55 Friday night.
CRC fell to 1-2.
Bethel led by as many as 18, leading 34-16 with 5:52 remaining in the first half. A late spurt by the Pioneers enabled the visitors to cut the gap to 37-30 at the half.
On two occasions in the second half, CRC closed to within two, but Bethel found their rhythm and won by twelve.
The Wildcats shot 47 percent from the floor. The Cats hit 17-of-24 free throw attempts and outrebounded the Pioneers 33-28. The Cats had 13 steals in the game and forced CRC into 16 turnovers. Bethel had a 46-20 advantage in points in the paint.
Yassine Zlitni had a career high 27 points. Tyler Neely followed with 18 points and four steals. Dimitrije Stojanovic came off the Bethel bench with 11 points and eight rebounds. Querrion Gadson had six steals and nine points for the Wildcats.
J D Smith led Crowley's Ridge with 19 points.
Zlitni and Neely made the all-tournament team.
In the earlier game, Blue Mountain defeated Southeastern Baptist 80-60.
Coach Jeff Britt captured his 497th career win with the victory.
Coach Britt commented, "We are pleased to get this win. Credit Crowley's Ridge for battling back after we took a big lead. With the three-point shot anything is possible. They got hot in the second half but like last night, our young men responded and made some key plays when we really needed them. Yassine hit some big buckets. This was a good win for us as we have some tough conference games coming up next week."
The Cats return to action Thursday hosting Shawnee State at 7:30 p.m. The game will follow the women's game which tips-off at 5:30 p.m. The Countdown to Tip-off Show begins at 5 p.m.
Watch:
https://bethelathletics.com/watch
Live stats:
https://bethelathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2022-23/boxscores/20221117_u800.xml
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