WATERFORD MILLS — A couple of the Bethany Christian players who started against Jimtown hadn’t been on the floor for a tip-off all season.

Bruins coach Jim Buller wanted to give all five of his seniors a start in their last home game Tuesday, Feb.12.

“We played some kids who don’t get much playing time that we were trying to reward because they’ve been working hard for the year,” Buller said.

The Jimmies (6-11) burst out to an 8-0 lead before the Bruins (3-14) rotated in their usual five. Jimtown led 12-0 after the first quarter off a 9-point performance by Cory Waycaster.

The game looked all but over at that point, but Buller’s squad spend the next 24 minutes clawing its way back into the game.

Even though the Bruins out-scored Jimtown in the next three quarters and even tied it up twice in the fourth quarter, Jimtown kept up the pace to win 51-46. The victory snapped a five-game Jimtown losing streak.

“We’ve been in that situation before and haven’t come out with a win,” Jimtown coach Ron Dietz said of playing down to the wire. “This is a good win for the kids. They’ve hung in with me all year.”

Jimtown led 37-30 by the end of the third quarter, but Bethany senior Caleb Morris went on a one-man, six-point burst to bring the Bruins within one.

“Caleb is just a gutty, hard worker,” Buller said. “He’s our captain and leader. He does a tremendous job trying to motivate, keep people focused.”

Jimtown’s Michael Hobbs and Nick Floyd each scored two quick buckets and the Jimmies hit 7-of-8 fourth-quarter free throws to keep the game out of reach.

“They battled all the way to the end, as well as my kids,” Dietz said. “It just happened to be our night at the end.”

Dietz said the win is a good “pick-me-up” for his squad as sectionals approach, Fuller said his team can learn from the loss — namely, how to execute under duress.

“It comes down to making plays under pressure,” Fuller said. “We’ve got to get a couple of things turned in our favor, and if we can have a 2-point lead instead of a 2-point deficit, maybe we will continue to respond in a positive way.”

Morris led all scorers with 17 points, while Cory Waycaster scored 13 for Jimtown.





Jimtown 51, Bethany Christian 45

Jimtown — Alec Brown 0-2 0-0 0, Nick Floyd 3-9 4-4 13, Cory Waycaster 5-11 4-6 15, Michael Hobbs 3-5 2-2 8, Augie Farwig 2-4 0-1 4, Adam DeShone 1-3 0-0 2, Mason Brown 2-8 1-2 5, Brody Olson 1-3 2-2 4, Luke Crocker 0-0 0-0 0, Dylan Guldager 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 17-46 (.370) 13-17 (.765) 51.

Bethany — Isaac Schertz 0-6 2-2 2, Byeong Chan Lim 0-1 0-0 0, Jesse Loewen 0-1 1-2 1, Caleb Morris 4-9 9-11 17, Ben Rudy-Froese 0-0 0-0 0, Sol Brenneman 4-11 0-0 8, Ike Lehman 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Nussbaum 1-2 0-2 2, Cristian Romero 0-0 0-0 0, Abe Thorne 5-12 5-6 15. Totals: 14-44 (.318) 17-23 (.739) 45.

Scoring By Quarters

Jimtown 12 13 12 14 — 51

Bethany 0 16 14 15 — 45

3-point goals: Jimtown (4-13) — Floyd 3, Waycaster; Bethany (0-8).

Rebounds: Jimtown (27) — Waycaster 6, Farwig 6; Bethany (22) — Thorne 11.

Steals: Jimtown (8) — Waycaster 3; Bethany (3) — Brenneman 2.

Turnovers: Jimtown 13, Bethany 13.

Fouls: Jimtown 22, Bethany 19. Fouled out — Brown.

Records: Jimtown 6-11, Bethany 3-14.

Next: Jimtown at Concord Friday; Bethany at LaVille Saturday.

JV: Jimtown 40, Bethany 23. Top scorers: Jimtown — Kain Templeton 14; Bethany — Isaac Brenneman 6.