DAYTON – After a hot start in the opening quarter, the Bethel Bees saw their season come to an end, falling in the Division Four Sectional Championship game, losing to Waynesville 58-40 at UD Arena on March 6.
Bethel exploded to a 20-7 lead after the opening period, but Waynesville turned the tables in the second period, outscoring the Bees by 15 points, and taking a two point lead.

The Spartans controlled the second half, outscoring the Bees 29-13, and rolling to their sixteenth win of the season, and a date in the districts.
Dusty Elsass led the Bees with 12 points, while Patrick Bain added nine points.
Bethel ends the season at 13-8 overall.
* To advance to the sectional finals, the Bees knocked off the Dixie Greyhounds 37-32, in a game where the Bees has to mount a furious fourth quarter comeback, trailing by nine with five minutes to go.
Bethel had scored a total of 19 points through the first three quarters, then exploded for 18 points in the final period of play to survive and advance.
“We went into the game knowing one of our better shooters (Ben Schweiterman) was under the weather, I just didn’t know how much he would even be able to play,” said Bethel coach Rick Hickman.  “We have him a try, but he was just too much under the weather to really go, and we played him about two minutes in the entire game.”
“We really struggled executing (tonight), but continued to play good defense.  Dixie was very physical and quick, and we had to box out well to have a chance.”
Bethel’s defense held Dixie to only four points in the opening period, while their offense struggled to score seven.  They matched that total in the second quarter, and when Dixie put together a better offensive period, the Greyhounds enjoyed a 15-14 halftime lead.
“Fortunately, we were playing defense well enough again to still be in the game at halftime,” Hickman said.  “At times we struggled shooting the ball, but our defense came up big.”
Offensively in the third period, the struggles continued for the Bees, as they only could muster five points, giving up 10, and trailing 25-19 heading to the fourth.
Dixie increased their lead to nine in the final quarter, then the Bees started their comeback.
“We did not play as well defensively in the third quarter, and they started to get more offensive boards which hurt us,” Hickman said.  “We challenged the kids once again, and it was a test of their character.  I asked the kids to see how big their hearts where, and not leave anything on the court.”
The last five minutes of the game, the Bees started to warm up from the field, hitting shots and dropping into a press, which was effective.
“We tried to press the whole second half, and it’s hard to press if you can’t score and get set up in it,” Hickman said. 
The Bees were led in scoring by Gus Schweiterman, who had eight points, while Elam and Hamlin each added seven.