LATROBE, Pa. (Feb. 19)- The Saint Vincent men's basketball team used a second half explosion to roll to an easy win over Bethany on Wednesday night by a score of 98-68.
The Bearcats (19-5, 15-4 PAC) overcame some early turnover issues on offense to put together an offensive masterclass. Despite keeping up in the first half, the Bearcats offense was just too much for Bethany (7-17, 2-17 PAC) to keep pace with.
The team as a whole put together a great offensive showing but there are still some players that stand out. Mike Iuzzolino led the team today with 19 points on 7-11 shooting while also dishing out four assists. Jevontae Jones added 18 points on 9-12 shooting with nine rebounds. Jaden Gales made a great impact on both ends with 14 points on 6-9 shooting, six rebounds, and four steals.
It was an interesting start for the Bearcats as they could not miss from the field going 4-4 over the first three minutes, but they turned it over three times giving Bethany many easy scoring opportunities. The Saint Vincent defense was able to hold pretty strong despite this, leading 8-7 with about 17 minutes to go in the half.
Bethany then blitzed the Bearcats with a barrage of threes to go on an 11-2 run in just over two minutes. Bethany shooters were hot and in rhythm and found good shoots quickly off of another Saint Vincent turnover and running on misses. With about 15 minutes to go in the half Bethany led 18-10.
Despite turnovers still being a big issue the Bearcats were able to really lock down on defense, allowing just one field goal over the next five minutes. While the Bearcats offense did steady a bit, they still committed three turnovers over this span, limiting the run to just 8-3. This run did cut the lead back down to three, with Bethany leading 21-18 with about nine minutes to go in the half.
Over the next three minutes Bethany was able to slightly grow their lead thanks to more steady offense, but the Saint Vincent defense and foul creation did enough to keep them within striking distance at all times, trailing 32-25 with about six minutes to go in the half.
And they did strike, ending the half on a blistering scoring pace going 7-9 from the field. Their defense also stepped up, holding Bethany to 3-8 shooting over these final six minutes of the half. Turnovers were still an issue with two more in this stretch, but they forced three turnovers of their own and used those opportunities to at tomes take the lead. Bethany did not just roll over though, ending the half tied 40-40.
The Bearcats shot 55% from the field and overall just had a great offensive flow throughout the entire half. The second, and most important issue, was the turnovers. The Bearcats committed nine turnovers in the first half which not only gave Bethany many great transition opportunities it also disrupted the Bearcats flow on offense and limited how big their runs could be.
Over the first eight minutes of the half the Bearcats went on a 24-10 run to take a commanding lead thanks to total domination on both ends. On offense they only turned it over one time which allowed them to really find a flow. This rhythm led to a blistering 10-14 start from the field this half, and allowed them to open up the offense outside, going 4-6 from deep. On defense they flipped the script, forcing four Bethany turnovers and creating easy scoring opportunities with them. With about 12 minutes to go the Bearcats led 64-50.
Saint Vincent just used this run and never looked back. Over the next four minutes they went on another 14-4 run with their dominating defense snuffing out any Bethany offense and using those stops to create easy looks on offense. Their lead swelled to 78-54 with about seven minutes to play.
The Bearcats kept the pressure on till the end, forcing six more turnovers over the final seven minutes. Benches started to clear as the clock ticked down but the Saint Vincent offense continued to roll, scoring 20 points over this final stretch thanks to some easy opportunities off turnovers and converting at the line. The Bearcats won this one easily 98-68.
This game went from tied to a 30 point win thanks to absolutely blistering offense in the second half. The Bearcats scored 58 points on 62% from the field and 40% from deep. Everything was going right for the Bearcats this half. The ball was zipping around with the team seemingly getting a good look every time. It did not matter of it was in transition or in the halfcourt the offense just felt easy. This led to Bethany really pressing on offense and making mistakes, which just snowballed into more easy opportunities for the Bearcats.
With the win the Bearcats clinch the number two seed and first-round bye in next week's PAC Championship Tournament. Saint Vincent will host an opponent to be determined next Thursday, February 27.
The Bearcats will look to carry this momentum as they close out the regular season at home this Saturday, February 22 against Grove City. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at the Robert S. Carey Center with senior day festivities taking place prior to the game.
