Bethel men avenge early season loss to McPherson
Bethel men avenge early season loss to McPherson
Yakubu recorded his second double-double of the season with game-high points performance.
On Saturday the Bethel men’s basketball team took on McPherson for the second time this season. The Threshers pulled away with the win 64-58 at home, avenging their early conference season loss on the road.
Harper Jonas led the way in the first half for the Threshers, scoring ten points in their 33-28 lead at the intermission. Bethel led the way in rebounds in the first half with 27 and held the Bulldogs to just 13, with no offensive rebounds for McPherson although they lead the KCAC in offensive rebounds.
This was a different story than the first time the two teams met this season when the Bulldogs were stronger in the rebounding category.
McPherson was able to take a lead in the second-half of five points but couldn’t hold on to it for long. Carmelo Yakubu led a 13-6 run to bring the Threshers back into the lead for the rest of the game, Yakubu scoring six of those points as he scored 11 in the second-half, giving Bethel the 64-58 win in Thresher Gym.
Yakubu recorded his second double-double of the season, leading the Threshers in points with 19 and in rebounds with 11.
“[Car]melo has been really good lately,” head coach Jayson Artaz said. “I feel like he has tried to impact the game in more ways than just scoring. He’s defending better, rebounding, and doing more things on the floor that impact winning. He’s really taking a good step forward as a player and person now.”
Other leaders were Nick Bonner with four assists, Keyaun Hoskin with three steals, and Jared Richardson and Jalyn Todd tied with two blocks.
Bethel scored 44 points in the paint on Saturday night compared to the Bulldogs 26. Similarly, the Threshers led the night in rebounds 45-32. Bethel also scored 15 fast-break points in the win.
“The difference in the Kansas Wesleyan game and this game in my eyes is we were more disciplined on the defensive end and didn’t foul them on drives as often,” Artaz said. “We were also able to score the ball down the stretch and against Kansas Wesleyan we really struggled late.”
The Threshers currently sit tied for 6th in the KCAC at 7-7 in conference play. They are tied with Ottawa, who they lost to on the road earlier in the season and will take on the Braves on Saturday in a revenge match in Thresher Gym.
“I do know this is a big week for us with two games that are huge for us,” Artaz said. “We play Bethany on Wednesday so mainly looking ahead at them first. Then, Ottawa is highly talented and I felt like they really controlled the game at their place so we need to do a better job on the defensive end in limiting their top end players.”
The Threshers will take on Bethany in Lindsborg on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. as they look to move to 8-7.