Curly Morris

ASKEWVILLE – While most teams try to schedule a pansy for their homecoming, you could about anticipate what Coach Joe Mizelle’s feelings would be about doing such a thing.

Concerning Bethel’s opponent Friday night Liberty Christian Academy, Coach Joe had this to say, &uot;They have only one loss coming into this game, and that was to Gramercy, a team who beat us.&uot;

Now the Liberty Knights have two losses, after falling to Bethel 98-58.

For career coaching victory 693 Mizelle, didn’t change his game plan. His team did not try any new plays. There were no surprise players suiting up for the home squad, it was business as usual.

Bethel’s first four baskets were lay ups, two by Trey Denton, one by Larry Caldwell, and one by Stephen Miller. Josh Freeman chipped in a free throw, and Frank Feher nailed a three-pointer to make the score 12-6.

After that it went a little like this: Lay up, lay up, lay up, lay up, jump shot, then Liberty managed to squeeze

a shot or two in there then; lay up, lay up, trey, lay up, lay up 27-17 Bethel after one period.

Asked if there was secret Jedi mind trick that his team used against the opposition that allows his team so many fast break points, Mizelle said, &uot;We have a game plan that is really quite simple. I’ve never understood why coaches don’t pick up on it.&uot;

By halftime Bethel held a 15-point lead and their superior passing was a thing to marvel. Though no Bethel player dunks the ball in a game, yet here they were in the second and third quarter throwing behind the back alley-oop passes to each other on fast breaks.

The entire game was a lay up drill for the Eagles. Add the fact that neither Jonathan Hoggard nor Stephen Miller were being contested on the boards, and it is easy to see why this team has been so explosive the entire season.

Liberty’s Gerrod Green managed a yeoman 22 points against the Eagles and got some help from teammate David Landey who finished with 19.

The Eagles, not surprisingly, had five players score in double figures, and their starting backcourt of Denton and Caldwell managed 54 points between them. Josh Freeman just missed another triple double finishing with nine rebounds, eight assists, and 12 points.

Starting center Stephen Miller matched Freeman’s rebound total and dropped in 10 points of his own.

Somewhere, right now, the Bethel Eagles are still running a fast break, and it’s getting faster as they head to the post season.

Bethel (98): Trey Denton – 34, Larry Caldwell – 20, Frank Feher – 16, Josh Freeman – 12, Stephen Miller – 10, J. Hoggard – 4, J. Askew – 2

Liberty (58):Gerrod Green – 22, David Landey – 19, M. Wacks – 8, M. Hunter – 5, T. Baker – 4