Basketball Falls Short Against #23 Bethel

The Brenau basketball team pushed the #21 Bethel Wildcats but came up short in an 88-71 loss in Southern States Athletic Conference play on Saturday in Gainesville.

The visiting Wildcats stormed out to a fast start with a 33-21 first quarter lead. The hot-shooting continued in the second quarter for a 49-34 halftime lead.

The Golden Tigers fought back in the third quarter, outscoring Bethel 20-18 to make the score 67-54 going into the final period.

Brenau used a 16-7 run to open the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to seven points with just under four minutes remaining, but the Golden Tigers were unable to finish their comeback.

"Bethel is a nationally ranked team that opened the game on fire," said head coach Kris Stewart. "We weathered the storm and had chances to win late in the fourth, which speaks to our competitive nature. We played very well on offense, but we couldn't overcome some key defensive breakdowns against a strong opponent."

"Even though we have struggled during this tough stretch of conference play, I know we have improved each game."

Briah Woods led the Golden Tigers with 20 points and five rebounds, while Sydney Haas added 15 points. Dominique Patrick scored 13 points and Lia Thomas chipped in eight points and six rebounds.

Bethel's Shamon Pearson led all scorers with 36 points.

Brenau (8-5 overall, 1-4 SSAC) next travels to Middle Georgia State on Thursday for a 5:30 conference game in Cochran.