The Saint Vincent men's basketball team led for most of game but dropped its second-straight Presidents' Athletic Conference game to the Bethany Bison. The final was 68-63.
 
The loss fall the Bearcats to 11-2 in the conference and drops consecutive PAC road games since the 2013-14 season. Overall, Saint Vincent is 18-4 while Bethany improves to 4-18, 3-10 in league play.
 
Saint Vincent opened the scoring and took an early 7-4 lead thanks to a Drew Normandin layup.  Bethany scored 11-straight points to gain a 15-7 lead with 15:03 remaining in the opening half.
 
The Bearcats trailed until the 9:53 mark when David Stephen stole the ball, scored on a fast break and tied the game at 17. Both teams then traded leads for three minutes when Kyle Pope nailed a jumper to claim a 24-23 lead for Saint Vincent.
 
The Bearcats never completely relinquished the lead the remainder of the half and led at the horn, 38-33. Shemar Bennett led the team with 13 points while Mike Simmons added 10 points.
 
In the second half, Saint Vincent continued its hold on the lead extending it to eight points (54-46) with 8:55 remaining in regulation when Andrew Reed hit a three-pointer.  Bethany rallied back which included a 10-2 run to gain a 58-56 lead.
 
The Bearcats fell behind seven points at one point but pulled the game within two (65-63) as Reed hit another three with 18 seconds left. However, Bethany closed out the game and the victory from the free throw line.
 
Bennett scored a game-high 21 points and recorded his second double-double of the season with 11 rebounds. Simmons was the other Bearcat in double digits with 12 points.
 
Saint Vincent returns to the Carey Center as it hosts Waynesburg University on Saturday, February 9 at 6 p.m.