Kansas City, Mo. – The Bethany College Swedes Men’s Basketball team travelled to Kansas City, Mo. to take on the Avila University Eagles in what was both team’s conference opener.
Keddric Mays II opened the contest going three-for-three from downtown and dropping 16 points in the first 10 minutes of the contest, but would trail by three halfway through the period. Six minutes later, the Swedes would turn a 13-9 run into a 42-41 lead, but the Eagles would close out the half with a 10-2 run to make it 51-44 at the break in favor of Avila.
Coming out of the break, Curtis Stovall III and Will Martinez would each cash in a three-pointer to quickly cut the deficit to one point. Plenty of back-and-forth would ensue to start the second half as the Swedes would find themselves up 62-61 at the 13:32 mark via a David Mitchell layup. Following an Eagle layup and Donovan Newton free throw, both teams would be tied at 63, but that is when the Eagles would start to take off closing the contest with a 36-19 run. Bethany would fall 99-82 to Avila and begin KCAC play 0-1.
Keddric Mays II scored early and often with 27 points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists, and three rebounds. Curtis Stovall III would tack on 14 while JJ Warfield would add 13 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.
As a team, the Swedes would shoot 43.8% from the floor overall, but would allow the Eagles to show 55.4%. Bethany would also commit 17 turnovers leading to 24 points for Avila.
Up Next…
The Swedes will get a shorter break than most as they will travel to Springfield, Mo. to take on the Mission University Patriots on their home court. Tipoff is set for 6:00 PM.
