Williams’ 25 Not Enough in Tight Loss to Threshers

NORTH NEWTON, Kan. – George Williams scored a season-high 25 points and the Eagle offense rallied in the second half to keep pace, but Avila men's basketball (2-8, 1-7 KCAC) came up just short, falling 74-67 to Bethel (7-7, 4-4 KCAC) after a good battle on Saturday afternoon.

A question all season for this new-look Eagle team has been who will provide the offense as the team continues to learn and gel. Well, on Saturday, the answer to that question came courtesy of one of their biggest offseason acquisitions, point guard George Williams, who shot 9-of-15 from the field, including 6-of-11 from beyond the arc, to drop 25 points, the most that any Eagles has scored in a game this season.

Trailing by only five points at halftime, the rest of the Eagle offense started to ignite in support of the red-hot Williams, who didn't slow down at all after the intermission. James Ross III was the brightest star, scoring 17 points in 17 minutes after halftime on 7-of-11 shooting, and Williams followed up ten points in the first half with 15 in the second. Jordan Majeed chipped in five, helping the Eagles shoot 55% from the field and 57% (8-of-14) from downtown to more than keep pace with the Threshers.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, who flashed some excellent offensive prowess, Bethel's offense was just a little more effective. Bethel shot 58% from the first and around 55% from beyond the arc after halftime, and, critically, the Threshers shot 80% from the foul line – Bethel missed as many free throws (three) in the second half as Avila attempted, limiting the Eagles' chances to complete the comeback.

Bethel was in the driver's seat from much of the match and Avila only led on a couple of occasions, but the Eagles were right there in striking distance for almost the entire game. The Threshers went on one big run to finally go up by double digits halfway through the second half, and by that point, there was not enough time left for the Eagles to cut into the deficit. Ross scored five points in the final minute to pull it closer, but Bethel managed to pull out the 74-67 win.

Up next, Avila men's basketball returns home for a full night of action this Wednesday, January 10 in Mabee Fieldhouse against Friends. Part of Student Welcome Back Week at Avila University, Avila Basketball is hosting Hawaiian Night and Catholic Schools Night as the Eagles take on the Falcons at 6 PM and 8 PM. As always, you can watch all the action live and for free on the Avila Sports Network with Joe Van Amburg on the call from Kansas City.