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ONE AWAY...from a share of the CCC title is the Bethel Bees after a big win over Arcanum.
Bob Moore
cccbasketball.com
Arcanum - The Bethel Bees traveled to Arcanum in the last weekend of the regular season and lit up the nets shooting a sizzling 64% from the field. The Bees started the game 10 for 11 from field and never looked back as they beat the Trojans 73-42.
Bethel started the night hitting their first three attempts from the field while the Trojans came up empty against the Bees zone defense in their first three possessions. Daniel Yates contributed 15 points on the night and he started the scoring for the Bees with a 12 foot jumper. Michael James added a deuce and when Yates connected with a trey the Trojans didn't know what hit them as the Bees swarmed to a 7-0 lead.
Austin Bruner connected for a bucket at the 5 minute mark to get the Trojans within 5, but that would be the closest they would come for the rest of the evening.
Grant Samuel added 7 of his 9 points in the first quarter and while fellow senior Jon Sutton would end the onslaught in the first quarter with his first trey of the game. When the smoke cleared the Bee held a 23 to 8 edge on the Trojans after the first quarter and unfortunately for the Trojans, Sutton was only getting warmed up.
Sutton connected with 3 more shots from 3 point land in the second quarter and ended up shooting a perfect 5 for 5 from the beyond the arc. Bethel 'cooled down' and shot 50% from the field in the second quarter but as first half came to an end the Bees held a 40 to 20 advantage, shooting a scintillating 68% from the field in the first half..
The second half started in similar fashion for the Bees with James and Yates getting the Bees rolling with shoots from long range. Scott Masin scored 8 of his 10 points on the night in the third quarter taking advantage of the Trojan man to man defense. James also contributed 8 of his 14 points on the night in the third quarter as Bethel started the third with a 12 point run to squash any hope of a Trojan comeback.
"I know they're capable of shooting from the perimeter like that," noted Bethel Head coach Rick Hickman when asked about his team's performance on the night. "They do it all the time in practice and to see them put it all together, both inside and outside in a game was nice to see."
"I was nervous about this game tonight," noted Hickman. "At least I was nervous but the kids on the way they played didn‚t seem to be nervous at all. I know Coach Gunter does a great job with their teams here and they have been playing well and really come on their last couple of games; plus we were playing them on their home floor."
When asked about the season and their upcoming game with Franklin Monroe the conversation also went to the home court advantage. "I told the kids in the locker room that I wish that we would have had Tri-Village on our home court this year. They shot the ball extremely well against us that night and we didn't. FM is another one of those teams where you dread stepping onto their floor. You know their history there and basketball is 'the' sport at Franklin Monroe. They always pack the gym and it is as blue as blue can be! When you go there you have to scrap and fight for everything you get!"
The Bees will face the Franklin Monroe Jets on Tuesday, February 23 at Franklin Monroe High School for a share of the Cross County Conference Crown with the Tri-Village Patriots. TV finished the season beating the same Franklin Monroe team at New Madison 60 - 54 to clinch at least a share of the crown.
Scoring by quarters
Bethel ....23...40..64..73
Arcanum ..8..20..29..42
Bethel
Yates - 15
James - 14
Masin - 10
Samuel - 9
Sutton - 15
Seale - 2
Moore - 2
Holtvogt - 6
FG % 64 (30 - 47) FT % 66 (4 - 6)
3 Point Goals - 9 (Sutton 5, Yates 3, James)(9/13 - 69%)
Arcanum
Burner - 10
Burns - 10
Brown - 5
Garno - 0
Shellhaas - 4
Baker - 2
Printz - 6
Kramer - 5
FG% 29 (15 - 52) FT % 50 (4 - 8)
3 Point Goals - 2 (Bruner, Burns)(2/14 - 14%)
Barker - 4
Totals - 32
Three Pointers:
Tri-Village 3 (Foreman, Frech and Mikesell)
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