Bethany Swedes upset No. 19 coyotes behind S. Clayton’s 22 points
VSN (admin) Published Thursday 6 January 2022 – 11:30
Salina, Kans. – Bethany College Sweden’s Men’s Basketball Team made a riot against number 19 ranked Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes at home.
The Kansas Wesleyan would start with a short jumper to hit first, but 10 seconds later, LeNorris Mincey would respond with two buckets over the next 90 seconds to give Bethany the lead 4-2. The Coyotes would tie things together with a couple of free throws and regain the lead on a lay-up. That lead would not last long as Malcom Clayton would hit a three-pointer on the following possession to put the Swedes over the Coyotes by 7-6. The Kansas Wesleyan would take the lead once again with 16:35 left in the first half, however Dalton Smyres would start a three-pointer just a minute later to take the lead for the last time with 15:26 left to play in the first. Including Smyre’s three-pointers, the Swedes would surpass the Coyotes by 11 points in the next 13 minutes to take their first double-digit lead of the night. 7 different Swedes contributed to the race 27-16. Solomon Clayton would start taking over towards the end of the first half when he would score Bethany’s last 10 points in the first period. Bethany would lead the Kansas Wesleyan 39-30 at halftime.
At the start of the second half, the speed seemed to lean towards the Coyotes way as the Kansas Wesleyan would start playing with an one-and-one setup, but they would miss the free throw after the basket. Bethany would take advantage of the mistake and make twice as many ball possessions to push the lead back to double digits. Both teams would score back and forth as the lead would hover between 6 and 14 points until the Kansas Wesleyan hit a three-pointer with 1:22 left to play to reduce the lead to 4. Bethany would ice the match by making 5 of 6 free. throws in the last 40 seconds to end the match with a win of 80-73.
Leading Swedes in points were Solomon Clayton with 22 points left with team-high 5 blocks. Malcom Clayton would score 10 points to go along with a team-high 6 rebounds. Dylan Smith is the last Swede to have double digits with 10 points. Smith would lead the team in steals with 4. Jalen Washington would lead the Swedes with 5 assists.
Bethany would play a good defense as a team by keeping the Kansas Wesleyan below 20% from long distance and only 37% from the entire floor. The Swedes would shoot 46% throughout the match and would lower 19 of 22 free throws. Even if the Coyotes outscored the Swedes in the competition, Bethany would get more second chance points with 8 compared to the Kansas Wesleyans 7. The Swedes would force the Coyotes to make 17 turnovers and get 16 points on them.
JUST…
The Bethany College Swedes will host Avila University on Saturday, January 8 at Hahn Gymnasium. Tips are set for 19:00 after the checkers match.
Bethany College Kansas Wesleyan University Men’s Basketball Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Game Result