NORTH NEWTON, Kan. — Bethel defeated Oklahoma Panhandle State 75-69 on Thursday in a gym packed with all of the area elementary school kids. The Threshers scored 47 points in the second half and finished with 11 3-pointers and eight turnovers.
Oklahoma Panhandle State opened an 8-2 lead as RJ Walker scored three early baskets and Ederick Coleman Jr. added a layup, but
Trenton Patterson scored Bethel's next six points to pull the Threshers within 10-8. The visitors pushed the margin back to 19-12 on Xavier Sulaiman's 3-pointer at 7:58 before Rustan Griffin hit a 3-pointer and
Daryus Tasby blocked a shot, finished a fast-break dunk and added a free throw to make it 19-18. Gyterson Louissant's free throw moved Oklahoma Panhandle State back in front 20-18, but Tasby made two free throws to tie it at 20; after John McCrear's tip-in,
Cade Kittrell scored off
Dominick Harris' assist to tie it at 22 and later tipped in a miss for a 24-22 Bethel lead. Harris hit a 3-pointer off a Patterson assist at :41, and after Sulaiman answered with a 3-pointer at :21, Patterson made one free throw at :09 to send the Threshers into halftime ahead 28-25.
Bethel moved ahead early in the second half with a nine-point run from 18:11 to 15:50, getting a Griffin tip-in, a Patterson jumper, a
Dominick Harris 3-pointer and a Griffin fast-break layup to turn a 31-29 edge into a 40-29 lead. Oklahoma Panhandle State cut the margin to 40-35 before the Threshers pushed back, and after Xavier Sulaiman's dunk made it 49-44, Griffin hit three 3-pointers in a short stretch to help Bethel build a 58-46 advantage. Oklahoma Panhandle State kept answering, including baskets by Ederick Coleman Jr. and John McCrear, but Harris and Patterson connected from 3-point range as the Threshers led 65-53 with 5:53 left. Sulaiman and RJ Walker helped Oklahoma Panhandle State get as close as 68-63 in the final two minutes, but Patterson scored at 1:01 and Bethel added free throws late to finish off a 75-69 win.
Bethel Top Performers
Dominick Harris
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- 20 points
- 4/7 3-pointers made
- 6/9 free throws made
- 3 steals
Trenton Patterson
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- 19 points
- 6/14 field goals made
- 5 assists
Rustan Griffin
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- 16 points
- 6/10 field goals made
- 4/7 3-pointers made
- 4 rebounds
Cade Kittrell
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- 8 rebounds
- 6 points
- 2 assists
- 1 block
Up next, the Threshers host Hesston on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. in North Newton, Kan.
