A terrible slow start for the Bethel Bees boys’ basketball team was capped off by a huge second half, as the Bees pulled away from Northwestern in the final 16 minutes, en route to a 60-39 victory over the Warriors in a non-conference game last week.
Patrick Bain lit up the Warriors for 29 points in the win, while two other Bees each added nine.
“It was a terrible start for us,” said Bethel coach Eric Glover.  “It was really slow.  Our defense wasn’t pressuring them, and the atmosphere in the gym was down.  Our kids play down to the level of our competition at times.”
“We took a lot of outside shots that weren’t falling, and Gus Schwieterman was in foul trouble.  Our guys weren’t very motivated.”
After a quick timeout where Glover “motivated” his team, along with a halftime speech where the guys came out with a different demeanor, the Bees turned it on the second half.
Trailing 19-18 at the half, Bethel tried to make their comeback.  Both Schwieterman and Johnny Wills were in foul trouble in the second half, and didn’t play much.
“We played Bethel basketball in the second half,” Glover said.  “Our defense pressured them, it got to them and caused turnovers.”
Bain started to do his damage to the Warriors, by penetrating to the basket and using the transition game to his benefit.
“I told Patrick he has to take this game over,” Glover said, who said the Bees junior added 10 rebounds to his point total.  “He got after them, hit the boards and looked to pass first.  He scored a lot on the break, and I told him no more three’s, penetrate and score.”
Once Bain started taking over, the Bees started to pull away from the Warriors. 
“I told the kids that our slow starts will eventually hurt us in the tournament,” Glover said.  “We have got to come out and play better from the tipoff.  We have to raise our game up and take care of things.”
Last night, the Bees hosted a very good state-ranked Greeneview team, with results coming next week.  Also for the Bees, they return to action on Friday hosting Mississinawa Valley on Friday, and travel to Lehman on Saturday for a non-conference game.  If you cannot make it to Lehman, the game as of now is tentatively scheduled to be broadcast by www.scoresbroadcast.com live on Saturday night.
* Also last week, Bethel defeated Newton 66-34, as they jumped out to a 33-19 halftime lead, and rolled to their twelfth win of the season.
Bain led Bethel with 14 points, while Schwieterman added 12 and Christian Pfledderer scored 11.