PARKVILLE, Mo. - The Bethel College Men's Basketball team took on Park University as they continued their road trip to begin the their 2022-23 campaign. After leading by one at the half, the Threshers fell behind by as much as nine in the second half. Trailing 75-73, Bethel had a chance to tie the contest and force overtime, but the shot came up short and the Pirates were able to knock down two free throws to take the 77-73 victory.

The Threshers used Bryant Mocaby's hot hand to jump out to an early seven point lead 17-10. Mocaby scored 12 of his 15 points in the first six minutes of the contest. Bethel held the lead for the first 11 minutes of the contest until the Pirates went on an 11-0 run to take a 26-22 advantage.

After both teams traded leads down the stretch, the Threshers were able to take the final lead of the half when Nick Bonner knocked down a three with under a minute left. Mocaby led the Threshers with 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting from three point range. 

Bethel was able to build up a quick five point lead after making the first two baskets out of the break. After Park rallied back to tie the contest at 41 a piece, they rattled off five straight points to take a 46-41 advantage. The Pirates took the lead from this point, building it up to as much as nine points, 67-58 with 3:56 remaining. This is when Bethel made its run to get back into the contest scoring the next seven points with a Mocaby three and two Clifford Byrd II layups. The Pirates lead bounced back and forth between two and four points.

With 13 seconds left and the Threshers down two, Byrd II did what he does best, as he swiped the ball. After attempting a fast break layup that was challenged and missed, the Threshers got the ball back down two points with 3 seconds remaining under their own basket. Jaylon Todd received the inbounds pass from Byrd II and missed his shot just short before Bethel fouled Park with just tenths of a second remaining. Park knocked down their two free throws as they escaped with the 77-73 victory on their home floor.

The Threshers were led in scoring by Clifford Byrd II with 21 points, 17 of which came in the second half. Mocaby finished with 15 points, while freshman Carmelo Yakubu added in 13 as well, both pulled in 7 rebounds to pace the Threshers. 

Bethel will be back in action on Friday, November 11th as they take on Benedictine in the McPherson College Classic with tip-off scheduled for 4:00 PM.