Cats Lose to No 6 Pats in Williamsburg

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – The Bethel Wildcats took to the road Thursday night, traveling to Williamsburg, Kentucky to meet the Patriots of the University of the Cumberlands.

The Cats battled to the very end but fell 88-83 to the Pats. The Cats beat UC 80-69 back on January 8 in McKenzie. UC leads the all-time series 9-2. Bethel is 1-5 in Williamsburg.

The Cats led 40-36 at the half. Bethel shot 46 percent while holding UC to 34 percent in the half. The Cats had a 22-21 rebound margin and outscored the Pats 28-16 in points in the paint.

D J Starr led Bethel with 14 first half points. Ethan Turner followed with 10 points in the first twenty minutes. Alonzo Rhodes Jr. had a team high six rebounds in the half. Kyle Duke led the Patriots with 11 first half tallies.

Neither squad could pull away in the second half as they continually traded baskets.

 Bethel trailed 82-79 but two free throws by Chauncey Hughes III made it 82-81 with two minutes left. A lay-up by Starr with just over a minute left gave the Cats an 83-82 lead. Several turnovers and successful free throws however by UC enabled the Pats to win 88-83.

Starr led the Cats with 20 points. Turner finished with 12 points while Hughes had 13 points.

Kyle Duke led UC with a game high 24 points.

Bethel outshot the Pats 54 percent to 44 percent, but free throws were a big factor. Bethel was 7-of-9 from the line while Cumberlands was 23-of-31 from the stripe. Bethel had a 52-38 advantage in points in the paint.

The Cats dropped to 16-6 overall and 2-4 in the MSC.

The No. 6 Pats improved to 18-3 and 3-2. Cumberlands is 11-0 at home on the year.

The Cats will move on to No. 18 Georgetown on Saturday in another MSC showdown. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. CT. The Pats will host No. 2 Freed-Hardeman on Saturday.