Bethel Christian boys fall, girls win on Senior Night
It was a mixed bag on Senior Night at Bethel Christian Academy as the Trojan girls rolled to an easy 35-17 victory over Greenville Christian Academy, but the boys dropped a hard-fought 45-41 decision to the Knights.
“It’s always good to get a win on Senior Night,” Bethel girls coach Michelle Williams said. “We played good defense, moved the ball well on offense. Just an overall excellent performance.”
The Trojans’ lone senior, Shelby Dilda, scored just one point in the win, but her leadership was vital to the team all season.
“Shelby’s the glue that keeps us all together,” Williams said. “We’re so young (9 players sophomore or younger), and all the girls look up to her because of her experience.”
A pair of sophomores, Laura Fulcher and Gabby Sutton, paced the Trojans (4-14, 2-6 NCCSA AA District 4), with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Bethel made quick work of GCA, building a 21-5 halftime advantage.
In the boys’ contest, the Trojans (8-12, 4-5) led most of the way before faltering in the fourth quarter, tallying just 5 points.
The game was close throughout, with neither team leading by more than 4 points. It was Bethel, however, that found itself on the winning side of the margin most often.
Connor Williams converted a Scott Sanderson steal into a layup that gave Bethel a 41-40 lead with 2:19 remaining.
The Trojans would not score again, missing its last 4 shots from the floor and turning the ball over twice.
The Knights (9-15, 3-6) took the lead for good on Cole Dial’s put back with 1:09 to play and then close out the game by hitting 3 of 4 free throws.
“It seemed like Greenville Christian just wanted this game a little more than we did,” Bethel coach Bert Potter said. “We suffered a tough loss last night (in overtime at New Bern Christian Academy), and we just never seemed to get our legs underneath us. We came out flat and sort of stayed in a funk.”
The game was tied 20-20 at halftime and Bethel led 36-32 heading into the fourth quarter.
“We played very well in the third quarter,” Potter said. “I was hoping that gave us some momentum, but we were too tentative in the last few minutes.”
Sanderson, one of two seniors on the squad, led the Trojans with 12 points. Quan Hamilton added 10 points, and senior Cody Dunk contributed 7.
The Trojans shot just 29 percent from the floor (13 of 45) and were unable to contain GCA’s inside duo of Davis Andrews (24 points, 8 rebounds), and Dial (14 points, 9 boards).
Boys
Greenville Christian 11 9 12 13—45
Bethel Christian 13 7 16 5—41
KNIGHTS—Davis Andrews 24, Cole Dial 14, Smith 5, House 2.
TROJANS—Scott Sanderson 12, Quan Hamilton 10, Dunk 7, Washington 6, Williams 6.
Girls
Greenville Christian 2 3 5 7—17
Bethel Christian 10 11 6 8—35
KNIGHTS—Andrews 7, Pinto 7, Wagner 3.
TROJANS—Laura Fulcher 14, Gabby Sutton 12, Vause 6, Harrell 2, Dilda 1.
