GREENVILLE, Pa. (Jan. 5) -- The Thiel College men's basketball squad suffered a 69-65 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) loss to visiting Bethany College Saturday afternoon at Beeghly Gymnasium.

Bethany's (6-6, 2-1) Brody Jackson paced the Bison with 15. Dakota Matz added 14 off of the Bench and Ryan Besancon chipped in with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Thiel (5-5, 1-2) watched freshman guard Devon Adams (Philadelphia, Pa./George Junior Republic) (Philadelphia/George Junior Republic) score a career-best 22 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Senior forward Joe Herrmann (Hartstown/Jamestown) (Hartstown/Jamestown) added 15 points and four boards.

Tied at 19-19 with 8:27 remaining in the opening half the Bison used a 16-2 spurt over the next 5:39 to grab a 35-21 lead with 2:32 to go in the first. Bethany went into the half leading 38-24.

Thiel took its first lead of the ballgame with 2: 31 remaining on a layup by freshman guard Nick Matviko (West Leechburg/Leechburg) (West Leechburg/Leechburg), pushing the Tomcats in front of the Bison 63-62. Marcus Adams' layup with 1: 19 to play gave the Bison back the lead at 64-63 before four straight free throws extended their lead to 68-63. A tip in from freshman forward Tommy Hall (Youngstown, Ohio/Campbell) (Youngstown, Ohio/Campbell) with 16 seconds on the clock trimmed the Bethany lead to three, 68-65, but a late offensive rebound and Jackson free throw would move the score to 69-65.

Thiel finished shooting 48.1 percent (26-54) from the floor and hit 5-of-13 (38.5%) three-point chances. Bethany concluded the game hitting 40.0 percent (20-50) from the floor but knocked down 8-of-24 (33.3%) three-point opportunities. Each team finished with 33 rebounds.

Thiel returns to PAC action on Wednesday, Jan. 9 when it travels to Washington & Jefferson College. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.