There is nothing more exciting than small-town basketball. The entire town of New Madison filled the home side and Bethel packed in the opposite bleachers as the Bees battled Tri-Village in a conference game on Friday night.

The game did not disappoint.

Both teams brought their best and in the end, the Patriots survived for a 53-51 victory.

Bethel jumped in front 6-2 early, as three different Bees got involved. Evan Hawthorn hit a 15-footer to open the game, and shots from Caleb South and Tyler Terry gave them the quick lead.

Tyler VanWinkle quickly gave the Patriots the lead, but Bethel took over for the rest of the first quarter.

The same trio did the damage again for the Bees as they built a 12-7 lead before VanWinkle again answered for Tri-Village. Hawthorn hit a free throw in the final 40 seconds, and as the buzzer sounded, the Bees connected on a three, sending the visitors to a 16-10 lead after the opening period.

The Bethel momentum was gone in the opening two minutes of the second period, as they watched Tri-Village score the first six points, including four from Trace Couch tying the game at 16. From there, it was a battle for the remainder of the period. The game was tied three more times, with three lead changes as neither team budged. Bethel led 25-22 with 1:48 left in the half when Terry scored in the paint, but VanWinkle answered again, and tied the game with a three.

Christian White sent the Bees into the half with a slim two point lead with a layup in the final seconds of the second quarter, setting up a thrilling final 16 minutes of this league contest.

Tri-Village built a five point lead midway through the third period, but South took over for the Bees.

The sophomore scored seven straight points in a span of one minutes, tying the game with a 15-footer, and giving the Bees a one-point lead on a free throw. The Bees defense held the Patriots offense scoreless for the final 4:40 of the third period, until Gavin Richards hit a free throw with four seconds left to send the game to the fourth with Bethel holding a 38-36 lead.

The fourth quarter was much of the same, with both teams battling before the Patriots walked out of this battle victorious.

Tri-Village was led by VanWinkle with 21 points in the victory, while Richards added 10. Bethel was led in scoring by South with a game high 22 points, and was the lone Bees player in double figures. Hawthorn added nine for Bethel.

The Bees wrap up their regular season this week, traveling to Mississinawa Valley on Friday, then heads to Stivers on Saturday night.

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