The Saint Vincent Bearcats gave Coach DP Harris his 100th career coaching win, holding off a furious charge by Bethany for a 77-76 victory on Senior Night in the Carey Center.

It was all Saint Vincent in the early going, as the hosts scored the game's first 11 points before Bethany scored on a free throw almost 4 1/2 minutes into play.

The Bearcats extended the lead to 17 with less than seven minutes remaining in the first half (29-12) thanks to a balanced attack.

Brody Jackson hit a pair of three-pointers consecutively to cut the margin to 11, then the Bison continued to wear down the Bearcats, getting as close as five points, before SVC went into the locker room with a 36-30 halftime lead.

A Joey Butler put-back, followed by a steal and a Butler fadeaway jumper helped SVC run the lead back to eleven (47-36) early in the second half, but Bethany refused to quit.  A banked 3-pointer by Jackson tied the game at 50-50 at the 12:45 mark, then a layup by Jonas Ankrom gave the visitors their first lead of the night, 52-50.  

Billy Bains put SVC back in front with a three-pointer that made it 58-56, followed by an Andy Ostach trey that gave SVC a five-point lead, 61-56 with less than 8 minutes remaining.  

Bethany closed the gap once again, but another three by Bains from the corner made it 66-60 Saint Vincent with six minutes left.  Yet again, the visitor fought back, tying the game on a Jackson layup, then going up by three on Jackson's fifth three-pointer of the night.  A jumper by Marcus Adams gave Bethany their largest lead of the night, four points (71-67) with less than three minutes remaining, but Mike Medved and Billy Bains both scored for SVC to tie the game at 71-71.

With 1:20 left, Ian McCollough hit a baseline jumper to put SVC up by two, then SVC forced a turnover with less than a minute to go.  Butler was fouled on the play, and hit one of two from the line to make it a 3-point game, 74-71.  A Tyler Morando bucket with 17 seconds left cut the gap to one, but Butler took matters into his own hands, driving through the lane and scoring for the Bearcats, and drawing a foul in the process.  He completed the three-point play to put SVC up by four points.  Bethany hit a three-pointer with one second left, but it was too late to have a chance at another possession, and the Bearcats held on for the win.

McCollough led all scorers on the night with 22 points.  Butler added 18 for the Bearcats, while Bains scored 16.   Medved added 8 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Jackson led the Bison (14-8) with 21 points, while Morando added 12.

Saint Vincent is now 12-0 at home, 18-3 overall on the season.  The Bearcats will travel to Thiel on Wednesday night for an 8:00 contest.