BOX SCORE

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by Geo Muzika, Sports Information Assistant
The Bethany Bison earned a 76-64 victory over the Bearcats in the regular season finale at the Carey Center, as Saint Vincent finished the season in fourth place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.

Saint Vincent's struggles started early as the Bearcats found it difficult to keep up with the fast paced offense of the Bison.

With 14 minutes left to play in the first half, Bethany started a 9-0 run that took them less than a minute to complete.  The run was ended by a deep three from senior guard Dennis Bassich that cut the Bearcat's deficit to six points, 18-12. 

The Bearcats could not cut the gap further, as turnovers and missed opportunities played a pivotal role in the first half.

Saint Vincent and Bethany exchanged baskets until the 4:18 mark when Bethany started a 10-3 run to end the first half with a score of 41-29.

The start of the second half looked as though the Bearcats would have a reversal of fortunes as they opened on an 8-0 run that highlighted the scoring abilities of four different Bearcats.  Saint Vincent's run brought them to within two points (42-40), with 16:48 left in regulation, but that was as close as the Bearcats could get.

Bethany rattled off another 9-0 run with 11 minutes left to play and again, turnovers and missed opportunities plagued the Bearcats. 

High scorer for the Bearcats, Chris Klimchock, and senior guard Ryan Nelson hit back to back three-pointers, but they were answered quickly by a long range shot from game-high scorer Reece Mabery.

Bethany and Saint Vincent traded baskets until the final buzzer and the Bearcats fell by the final score of 76-64.

For SVC, four players finished in double figures.  Klimchock finished with 16 points and six rebounds.  Sophomore Dillon Stith finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Senior Tauvon Pettiford ended with 13 points and four rebounds and Bassich ended the game with 10 points.

Four of Bethany's starters and one player off the bench ended in double figures, led by Mabery's 19.

Saint Vincent will play again on Tuesday night at the Carey Center when they take on Grove City College at 8:00 in the first round of the PAC playoffs.