BETHANY, W.Va. – After the potential game-tying three-point shot rimmed out at the overtime buzzer, the Washington & Jefferson men's basketball team suffered a close defeat to Bethany, 69-66, in Presidents' Athletic Conference play on Wednesday night, Jan. 10.
 
With both teams tied at 61-61 entering the extra period, the Bison scored each of the first four points via free throws to gain the early edge. After an Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) layup, the Bison banked in a layup of their own. Matt Kanan (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) proceeded to connect on a long ball, his seventh of the game, to bring the Presidents back to within a point.
 
After two Bethany free throws pushed the W&J deficit back to three points, Terence Martin (Saugus, Mass./Northeast Metro Tech School) hoisted up the game-tying three-point attempt at the buzzer that spun around inside of the rim before flying out to preserve the three-point Bethany win.
 
The Bison began the second half with a 14-6 run over the first seven minutes of the frame to gain a 48-43 advantage over the Presidents. After both teams scored four points, the Bison began to pull away again as they extended their lead to 57-51 with just under seven minutes to play.
 
W&J answered with 10 straight points, fueled by two three-pointers from Jonathan DeVito (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic), to regain a lead by four points. Bethany quickly scored four points in response to send the game into overtime.
 
With the game tied, 8-8, in the early going, the Presidents went on a 10-2 run to build up an 18-10 lead with 13:03 remaining in the first. The Bison slowly chipped away at their deficit, however, using a 17-9 run to tie the game at 27 points aside. W&J responded by scoring 10 consecutive points over the next 4:35 of game time, before the Bison closed the half with seven straight points, leaving the Presidents with a 37-34 halftime lead.
 
Kanan led all scorers in the game with 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc, the most three-pointers in a game for the Presidents since Sean Stinelli (Harrison City, Pa./Penn-Trafford) nailed seven against Saint Vincent on Jan. 25, 2017.
 
Luptak finished with 15 points, his second consecutive double-digit scoring performance, as the freshman made 6-of-13 shot attempts and 3-of-4 free throws to go along with three rebounds and a pair of assists. DeVito tallied nine points, going 3-for-7 from long range in the contest, in addition to posting three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
W&J held advantages in offensive rebounds (9-8), second chance points (8-4) and bench points (28-26) over Bethany.
 
The Presidents will return to the hardwood on Saturday, Jan. 13, when they host PAC foe Thomas More in a 4:00 p.m. conference battle.