Reece Mabery came up big against the best team on Bethany's schedule, scoring 31 points on 6-of-10 three-point shooting against Illinois Wesleyan. Bethany athletics photo

Basketball has been played at Bethany for more than 100 years. And yet, in that time, no men’s team has ever been nationally ranked.

So while rankings mean little in the grand scheme of things, the players had good reason to take a little ride in seeing their team with a number next to its name this week. Sure, it’s only No. 25, but it’s a big deal for a team that has worked its tail off this season to gain a glimmer of national respect.

“It didn’t really sink in until I went to our website and saw No. 25 Bethany in one of the stories,” senior forward British Alexander said. “I called over Leslie (Addy), one of my roomates and said ‘Wow, that’s sweet.’ It’s a real honor to be the first team ranked in the 104 years Bethany has been playing with all of the good teams that have played here.”

Bethany has been building for this moment since the arrival of head coach Andrew Sachs. He is in his third season with the team and has already won 63 games despite the fact that he has made it his goal since day one to toughen up the team’s schedule.

“The ranking is great for the kids. They have earned it,” Sachs said. “We really upgraded our schedule and it’s helped make us a better basketball team.”

Bethany is 23-3 heading into Thursday’s Presidents' Athletic Conference tournament semifinal game against Washington and Jefferson. The Bison beat Waynesburg 82-69 in the opening round of the tourney and is not only riding the high of a six-game win streak, but it is aiming for a second consecutive conference tourney title as well.

The only guarantee the Bison has to return to the NCAA Tournament is to win the PAC championship. Bethany seems poised to do that and get another shot at winning in the national tourney. A year ago, it lost 70-58 to No. 21 Manchester in the opening round.

Sachs was hoping his team would be fourth in this week’s regional rankings. Bethany is fifth.

“We could go 24-4 and not make the tournament. That would be disappointing,” Sachs said. “But we control our own destiny. If we win the conference tournament, we will get in. We know what we have to do and it’s up to us to come ready to play.”

Bethany has been playing its best basketball late in the season and is averaging 75.6 points per outing. The Bison is allowing 60.6 points per game.

Nick Wilcox is clicking for 15 ppg while Reece Mabery is pumping in 13.3 points per outing. James Barton (13.2), Brady Pacific (12.9) and Alexander (10.6) are also providing offense to a balanced Bethany attack.

“We’re not a very deep team, but we have a good group of guys that can play,” Sachs said. “Our guys get after you on defense and we have pretty good shooters.” I’m not surprised at the success we’ve had. These guys have put a lot of sweat and hard work into this season. We expected to be successful. We’ve earned it and we have a lot more work to do.”

Wilcox is certainly thrilled about what the Bison has accomplished so far and is proud of the way the team has come together this season.

“I’m really glad to be a part of it because I love being on a winning team,” Wilcox said. “My goal is to make my teammates better and do whatever we have to do to win. Over the last three years, coach has been picking up good players and we just keep working really hard and playing well together.”

With one more win, Bethany will tie the single-season mark for wins in a season. The last team to win 24 games at Bethany was the 2004-05 squad.

British Alexander has been amazingly consistent for Bethany, scoring between 11 and 16 points eight times in the past nine games. Bethany athletics photo

“It’s an honor to set records in anything,” whether it’s basketball or life,” Alexander said. “It makes you want to keep working hard and keep improving because other people will want to come be a part of what you’re accomplishing.”

In the tourney win over Waynesburg, the Bison was challenged at times. That is to be expected when you are a top seed. But behind 17 points from Pacific, including 11 in the second half, and the eighth double-double of the year by Alexander (15 points and 10 rebounds), Bethany found a way to get the job done.

“We didn’t pull away the way I would have liked us to, but it’s tough when you play teams with nothing to lose,” Sachs said. “Our defense wasn’t the best but we played well enough to win. We need to be better (against Washington and Jefferson). The good thing about the tournament is that we are at home. It’s a big help.”

If Bethany does capitalize on its home-court advantage and win a championship this weekend, it will go into the NCAA tourney looking to take care of unfinished business. The experience of playing in the tourney last season has certainly put this team in a good position for this season.

“There is no doubt that experience has helped us out,” Sachs said. “Our goal was to build on the experience and we have gotten better as a team. Last year we were down 15-0 in our tournament game. It was a new experience for the guys. We know what it takes now and we’re looking forward to getting another chance at it.”

Men's poll notes

David Krombeen scored 23 points and helped top-ranked Hope knock off archrival Calvin 87-80 in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association tournament game on Wednesday night. The Flying Dutchmen ran their win streak to 21 as they shot 52.7 percent from the field. Nate Snuggerud added 18 points in the victory while Logan Neil and Colton Overway scored 13 and 12, respectively. ... Mary Hardin-Baylor wrapped up its most successful season in school history on Saturday in a 60-53 win over Texas Lutheran. The fifth-ranked Crusaders head into the postseason at 24-1 overall after holding off an upset-minded Bulldogs team. Sterling Phillips scored 12 to lead the way. ... No. 9 Birmingham-Southern ran its win streak to 16 games overall and to 42 in a row at home after a 92-80 win over Oglethorpe on Saturday. Zac Richards dropped in 25 points for the Panthers, hitting 12 of his 15 shots from the field. ... Justin Hallowell scored 20 or more points for the third consecutive game, dropping in 25 as No. 19 Wooster edged DePauw 59-51 in a North Coast Athletic Conference tournament game on Wednesday. Hallowell also pulled down seven rebounds and the Fighting Scots held the Tigers to 37 percent shooting from the field.

Women's poll notes

The win streak continued for fourth-ranked DePauw as it pulled away for a 73-68 win over Oberlin in an NCAC tournament game on Wednesday night. Savannah Treees clicked for 14 points as the Tigers won their 23rd consecutive game. ... Calvin secured the outright MIAA championship on Wednesday with a 73-52 win over St. Mary’s College. The fifth-ranked Knights got 21 points from Carissa Verkaik, who moved into second all-time on the school scoring list with 1,564 points. Calvin has won 13 league championships, including four under coach John Ross. ... Mount Union junior point guard Rosa LaMattina ranks fifth in the Ohio Athletic Conference in scoring at 15.3 points per game. The No. 6 Purple Raiders go into the league tourney having won their last 19 games overall and their last 21 at home. ... Hope secured the second seed in the MIAA tournament by beating Adrian 55-49 on Saturday. Liz Ellis scored 16 points to pace the No. 18 team in the country. Hope forced 24 turnovers in the win. ... Louisiana College hasn’t had a problem putting points on the board lately. The No. 22 Wildcats scored more than 100 for the third consecutive game on Monday in a 102-75 win over Mississippi College. Keana Frank, who only stands 5 feet tall, poured in 20 points to go along with five assists.

Quick Hits

The Trinity men’s basketball team closed its regular season on an eight-game win streak, capping the run with a 74-59 win over Austin College on Saturday. The Tigers improved to 17-8 overall after Robert Kitzinger helped lead Trinity to the win with a 19-point performance. ... Gabby Oglesby is only a sophomore at Guilford, but on Wednesday, she was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Oglesby is fourth in the league in scoring at 14.7 points per game and is sixth in rebounding at 7.7 boards per game. She is also the program’s all-time leader in blocks with 118. ... Shenandoah nailed down an upset win over North Carolina Wesleyan in the opening round of the USA South men’s tournament on Tuesday, winning 72-68. The seventh-seeded Hornets lost both games to the Bishops during the regular season but Avery Green scored 20 points to help Shenandoah end an eight-game losing streak. It was only the fifth win of the season for the Hornets, who head to the semifinal round of the tournament for the 11th time in 20 years. ... Jennifer Reimer is having her fair share of success at Case Western Reserve, guiding the Spartans to their fourth winning season in her five years at the helm. The latest win was a 77-60 victory over Emory on Sunday. Evy Iacono led the way, pouring in 22 points on a day when the Spartans shot 50.9 percent from the field while limiting Emory to 41.4 percent shooting. The Spartans also defeated Rochester on Friday, knocking the Yellowjackets out of the top 10 in the D3hoops.com Top 25.