Boone’s deep three sends Coyotes past Bethany 69-66
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

Trey Sims gave Kansas Wesleyan a 66-63 lead with 15.2 seconds left in Thursday night’s Kansas Conference clash with arch rival Bethany inside Muir Gym. However a three from C.J. Littlejohn would tie it up with 5.6 seconds left, setting up a wild final sequence in which Tony Boone would hit a three from 35-feet to give the Coyotes a 69-66 win over the Swedes.

Boone’s steal and layup would open the scoring for the Coyotes, but Gordon Brown would answer back for Bethany, tying things up at 2-all at the 17:57 mark in the first half.

The score would be tied twice more before the Coyotes would work a little breathing room. A 10-4 Wesleyan run, sparked by a bucket from Willie McCarty and capped by a three from Chris Gold gave the Coyotes their biggest lead of the half at six, 16-10, with 10:07 to go.

A 7-2 run from the Swedes, saw them get within one at 18-17 with 5:31 to go in the half on a three from Kirby Nickel. The Coyotes wasted no time in answering back. Back to back three’s from Mychal Henderson and Sims saw the Coyotes push the lead to the biggest margin of the half at seven, 24-17, with 4:38 to go.

Bethany would fight back, cutting Wesleyan’s lead to one, 26-25, on a steal and dunk from Roddrick Williams with 1:13 to go, but a three from Milen Brown would send the Coyotes into the break leading 29-25.

Four straight points from the Swedes to open the second half would tie things up at 29-all with 19:10 to go, and after a tip in from Sims, Littlejohn’s three with 16:21 left would give the Swedes their first lead of the night at 32-31.

A three point play from Justin Holcom would give the Swedes their biggest lead of the night at four, 35-31, with 16:01 left. After a Coyote basket, Holcom’s free throws would again give the Swedes a four-point lead with 14:13 left when the Coyotes would explode offensively.

Sims’ three with 13:49 left sparked a 17-3 run by the Coyotes, giving them their biggest lead of the night at ten, 50-40, on a bucket from McCarty with 11:33. The Coyotes were 7-for-7 during the run, knocking down three triples.

Bethany answered back with seven straight to make it 50-47 with 9:57 to go on a three from Littlejohn, but the Coyotes built their lead back to six, 53-47, with 7:30 left on a free throw from McCarty.

Littlejohn’s three with 5:45 to go tied things back up at 54-all, capping a 7-1 run from the Swedes, setting up a wild stretch to finish the game.

Holcom’s free throws with 3:35 left gave Bethany its first lead of the second half at 58-57, but Romero Hood’s charity shots with 3:11 left would give the Coyotes the lead back at 59-58.

Zack Sullivan gave Bethany its final lead of the night on a pair of free throws with 2:42 left, before four straight from the Coyotes would give Wesleyan a 63-60 lead with 1:25 left capped by a pair of free throws from McCarty.

After being 3-for-9 from the line, the Coyotes would convert at the line in the crunch hitting seven of their last eight free throws.

Sullivan would tie things up at 63-all with 1:00 left on a free throw, but Sims’ three foul shots, the last coming with 13 seconds left would give the Coyotes a 66-63 lead, setting up the crazy finish.

Littlejohn would bury a 25-foot three with 5.6 left to tie it up at 66. After inbounding, McCarty would hit Boone at half court, and he would dribble twice and fire a three from between the “K” and the “A” in the Kansas Wesleyan painted on the floor and it would swish as the buzzer to give the Coyotes the win.

Sims led Wesleyan (10-10, 8-3) with 22 points, while McCarty added 13 off the bench for the Coyotes, who shot 25-of-61 from the field for 41 percent, including a 9-for-21 performance from three point range for 42.9 percent. Sims also led the Coyotes with six rebounds, while Hood, McCarty and Boone added five each as both teams had 35 boards in the game. Boone had six assists, while Sims lead the way with three of the Coyotes’ ten steals.

Holcom had 21 points and ten rebounds off the bench to lead Bethany (5-16, 2-9), while Littlejohn and Williams each had 14, as the Swedes were 19-for-50 from the field for 38 percent. Littlejohn also added seven rebounds for the Swedes.

The Coyotes are back in action on Saturday, hosting Southwestern at 7 p.m., inside Muir Gym. Last time the Coyotes and Moundbuilders met, Wesleyan knocked off the then No.19 ranked Moundbuilders 64-63 in Winfield on December 6. Wesleyan then wraps up its four-game homestand a week from tonight against McPherson.

-- KWU SI --