BETHANY, W.Va. – The Thiel College men's basketball team defeated the Bethany Bison, 79-57, in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game Wednesday night.
 
In the first half, the PAC rivals remained close. The game was tied at 14-14, 24-24, then again at 26-26 with 7:03 remaining. The Bison took the lead and kept it, but the Tomcats were within one with the score at 32-33 at halftime.
 
In the second half, the Tomcats came storming out of the gates with a 16-3 run to take a 48-36 lead. The Tomcats led by at least nine the rest of the game. With the Tomcats leading 63-52 with 5:24 left in the contest, Thiel scored nine unanswered points to take a 20-point lead and clinch their eventual 79-57 victory over Bethany.
 
Thiel outscored Bethany 47-24 in the second half to earn the win. The Tomcats also tallied 19 steals as a team, compared to six by the Bison. The 19 steals helped lead to 43 points off turnovers for the Tomcats.
 
Marlon Ellerbee (Temple Hills, Md./Oxon Hill) set a new career high with 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 7-for-8 free throw shooting. He also led the Tomcats with three assists and added three steals. Daquan Simmons (Capitol Heights, Md./Central) notched 16 points and led the game with four steals.
 
Beni Lavodrama (Washington, D.C./Phelps ACE) and Rayshod Hooper (Baltimore, Md./St. Frances Academy) each scored double-digit points with 13 and 10, respectively. Hooper also grabbed 11 boards to record his second double-double in the last four games. Ahmad Tejumola (Waldorf, Md./Saint Charles) and John Aarestrup (Miami, Fla./Archbishop Coleman Carroll) each added three steals apiece and seven and four points, respectively.
 
For the Bison, Travis Zimmerman finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks for a double-double.
 
The Tomcats' next game will be Saturday at 3 p.m. in Grove City to take on the Wolverines.