Bethel upset bid falls short against 17th-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene men's basketball
Bethel upset bid falls short against 17th-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene men's basketball
The Threshers fell 101-95; Hoskin scored 33 points in the contest.
OLATHE — On Friday night, the Bethel men’s basketball team took a trip to Olathe to take on the 17th-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers for their second contest of the season. The Threshers fell in overtime, 101-95.
The starters were the same as the Threshers’ first contest except for a change in point guard as senior Miguel Vojtova got the start. Bethel was without Carmelo Yakubu for the second contest in a row.
In the first half, neither team would lead by more than six points as Bethel kept the game close with several missed dunks from the Pioneers big man. The Threshers shot 49% in the first half while MidAmerica only shot 41%.
The hopes of an upset were looming for Bethel in the second half as Hoskin broke out firing, scoring 23 points in the second.
“I thought that was the best and most comfortable I have seen Keyaun play,” Head coach Jayson Artaz said. “He has been working his way into fitting in and I think he has started to turn a corner as to what he can be and what he can do to help us win. I am hoping that this game will springboard him into playing under control and confidently.”
With under one minute to play, the Threshers had a four-point lead, but let the Pioneers tie the game up with 0.5 seconds and a Pioneer player at the free throw line. The pressure would be too much for the Pioneer player as he missed and the game went to overtime with the Threshers’ hopes still alive.
In overtime, Bethel was outscored 16-10 as the Pioneers barely got past an upset in their season opener, 101-95.
Hoskin continued to shine in just his second game with 33 points and six rebounds, leading all Bethel scorers with 15 of those points coming from outside the three-point line. Nick Bonner stayed consistent on offense with 16 points added to his season statline. Jared Richardson and Eli Wiseman found themselves with two steals and Jalyn Todd finished the game with three blocks.
Overall Bethel shot 50.7% from field goal range and 48.5% from the three-point line in the contest. Bethel tallied up 40 rebounds along with ten steals against the Pioneers. 13 of those rebounds came on offense and gave them 15 second-chance points.
“One of our biggest weaknesses in our first game was rebounding so to see some improvement in that area was great,” Artaz said. “We still have a ways to go in being more solid on the glass and creating more turnovers.”
One of the key factors for the Threshers this year will be their depth on the bench. In the contest against the Pioneers Bethel saw 29 of their points come from off the bench.
“Our bench was awesome,'“ Artaz said. “The game wasn't too big for them and they came in and played really hard and played to their role. We never felt a drop off at all when we went to our bench which is huge for our team this year.”
Turnovers still haunted the Threshers as they tallied up 22 on the night and shot 30% from the free throw line, only taking 10 the whole game.
The Threshers will be back in action on Tuesday as they take the trip to Oklahoma City, Okla. to take on Mid-America Christian. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:45 p.m.