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The Saint Vincent men earned a 69-66 win over the Bethany Bison in Presidents' Athletic Conference action in the Carey Center.

Bethany opened a nine-point lead, 11-2, in the game's first four minutes, but a dunk from Dillon Stith brought the Bearcat offense back to life at the 15-minute mark.

SVC continued to claw its way back into the game, with another dunk from Stith at with 11:02 remaining making it a two-point game, 17-15.  The Bearcats later tied the game at 19 on a bucket from Armani Fountain, and went in front for the first time after four straight points from Sean Kett with 8 minutes left in the first half.

A three by Turner capped a 10-0 run, and after a free throw by Brady Pacific for the Bison, Turner hit another trey to make it a 10-point SVC lead, 32-22.

Saint Vincent held a 34-29 lead after a Nick Wilcox free throw with 47 ticks left in the half, and Kett was able to extend the lead with a buzzer-beating long three, making it 37-29 at the break.

The second half got off to a sour note for SVC, as the Bison scored 10 points in just over two minutes to take a 39-37 lead before Grant Latus ended the skid for the Bearcats.

However, the Bison managed to increase their lead to five, 48-43, before scores from Kett and Stith brought the margin back to just one.  Edmond Wright II later hit a three to break a 51-51 tie with 8:15 to go, but the visitors tied it again less than a minute later.

Wright then provided another spark for the Bearcats, hitting a baseline jumper, feeding Latus for a dunk, and coming up with a steal, all within a two minute span, helping SVC build a narrow two-point lead, 58-56.  After a Pacific free throw, Stith scored and drew a foul, hitting the bonus to make it 61-57 in favor of the hosts.

JC Howard then came up with a steal, drove the lane and scored to extend the lead to six, 63-57.

With 4:01 to go, the Bison made it a four-point game, 63-59 after a pair of free throws by Lawrence Weldon, but Turner hit a jumper with 2:17 to go to run the lead back to six.  After the Bison were unable to score on their next possession, Wright found Latus in the paint for a bucket that made it 67-59.

After two free throws by Chris Klimchock with 43 seconds remaining, the lead was seven, 69-62, but SVC turned the ball over twice in the closing seconds, allowing Bethany to cut the gap to three.

Bethany had one last opportunity, getting the ball back with 14 seconds on the clock, but were unable to get off a shot thanks to solid pressure from the SVC defense.  Klimchock wisely fouled James Barton with 3 seconds left, but Barton missed both shots, securing the victory for the Bearcats.

Five Bearcats scored in double figures on the afternoon; Turner (14) and Stith (12).  Kett (11), Howard (10) and Latus (10).  Wright tallied 8 points and four assists.  Klimchock was held to just two points, but had 9 assists.  Stith, Fountain and Kett each had five rebounds.

Bethany was led by Pacific with 18 points.  Kevin Jackson added 13 off the bench, while Wilcox had a game-high 8 rebounds.

With the win, Saint Vincent improves to 10-4 overall, 5-0 in the PAC.  Bethany falls to 11-3, 5-1 in the conference.  SVC will be back in action on Wednesday, hosting Geneva College at 7:30 in the Carey Center.