Senior Beka Bellhy followed her brothers' path to W&J, then was joined by her younger sister. Photo by Martin Santek Photography

By Greg Chandler

It's not often when one member of a family plays college basketball.

Rare is the instance when two members of a family compete in the sport.

Then there's the Bellhy family, from the small town of McDonald, Pa. Over the past eight years, four Bellhy siblings have played collegiately – at the same school.

Zach, Nate, Beka, and Rachel have all played for Washington and Jefferson College, combining for an amazing 4,081 points over their respective careers. This season, Beka is averaging 18.2 points per game for the Presidents in leading them to a 21-4 record, while Rachel is averaging 9.4 points per contest.

"It's been really cool to be part of something like this, especially with my older brothers playing here and playing well, and now being able to play with my sister. It's a lot of fun," said Beka, a senior forward who ranks second in the PAC in scoring behind reigning D-III Player of the Year Sydney Moss of Thomas More.

Beka, who has 1,478 career points, has been the leading scorer in 16 of W&J's games this season, including a career-high 34 points last Saturday in an 80-68 win at Bethany. Rachel, a sophomore forward, has been high scorer in four games, including a 22-point performance Jan. 30 in an 84-60 win over Chatham. Rachel also had a double-double in Saturday's win over Bethany, scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

The Bellhy family tree began with Zach, who arrived at W&J in the fall of 2008, mostly because he wanted to play close to home so his parents could see his games. The college is a half-hour drive from McDonald.

"It's one of those schools that has a great combination of academics and athletics. They offered what I wanted academic-wise," Zach said. "The guys on the team were a main draw (as well). I played with a great group of guys the four years I was there."

Zach scored 1,504 points, ranking No. 4 on the Presidents' men's career scoring list, before graduating in 2013 with a degree in computer science. He is now a computer software engineer.

Nate transferred to W&J his sophomore year from Seton Hill, an NCAA Division II program, so he could play alongside his brother.

"Growing up, we played (ball) in the backyard, and to play with him at the collegiate level was really something special," said Nate, who averaged 14.3 points per game as a sophomore, then 18 points a contest as a junior.

Injuries robbed Nate of his senior year at W&J, but he is completing his college eligibility this winter at Division II California (Pa.) University while he works on his master's in business administration.

Rachel, who had been watching W&J games since eighth grade when Zach began his career, was recruited by several other PAC member schools coming out of Fort Cherry High School. In the end, the opportunity to play alongside her older sister was too good to pass up.

"I knew I didn't want to play against my sister. There was no way I was doing that," Rachel said.

After a slow start to the season because of an ankle injury, Rachel has scored in double figures in 11 of her last 15 games.

The Bellhy girls' focus this week is the PAC tournament. They will play a semifinal game on Friday night against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. A win there would likely mean a rematch with No. 1-ranked Thomas More on Saturday on the Saints' home court. TMC has won the first two meetings by scores of 103-56 and 88-57.

"We're just hoping to have a good game (on Friday), and get another shot at Thomas More," Beka said.

OWU, Wooster tie for NCAC men's championship

For the first time in 23 years, the NCAC men's race ended with the crowning of co-champions.

Ohio Wesleyan and Wooster won both of their games last week to finish 13-3 in conference play, with the Battling Bishops earning the top seed for this week's NCAC tournament that begins Tuesday night.

Ohio Wesleyan defeated Oberlin, 93-75, on Wednesday, then downed DePauw 81-57 on Saturday. Sophomore guard Nate Axelrod pumped in 30 points for OWU in the Oberlin win, while junior post player Ben Simpson added 21 points and 15 rebounds. Senior Matt Jeske had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists to lead the way in the win over DePauw.

Wooster, meanwhile, claimed a share of the title with wins over Allegheny, 92-74, and Oberlin, 97-56. Balanced scoring was the word for the Scots, as five players scored in double figures in both victories. Dan Fanelly came off the bench to score 20 points against Allegheny, while guard Mitch Balser contributed 16 points in both contests.

The last NCAC co-championship came in the 1992-93 season, when Wittenberg and Allegheny tied for the title.

Marietta nails down OAC men's title

The Marietta Pioneers claimed the OAC men's regular season championship with a pair of road wins last week, dispatching Otterbein 80-56 and Ohio Northern 97-73.

Junior post player A.J. Edwards was unstoppable for Marietta, scoring 50 points and pulling down 21 rebounds for the week. Edwards had 20 points and 12 boards against Otterbein, then went for 30 and 9 in the romp over ONU. Dillon Young added 19 points, including five 3-pointers, against Otterbein.

The Pioneers got some assistance toward the outright conference title from Mount Union, who handed John Carroll its third straight loss after 21 wins, 100-94. The Purple Raiders nailed 17 3-pointers in the win, with Jake Jacubec, Cody Dillon and Kyle Scelza each hitting four. JCU had to settle for second place after a 99-76 win over Muskingum.

The Pioneers' 17-1 OAC record is the best in the conference play since Ohio Northern went 17-1 back in the 2000-01 season. No team has gone undefeated in conference play since the OAC went to a double round-robin format in the 1989-90 season.

Hope defeats archrival Calvin for outright MIAA men's title; Knights hand Flying Dutch first women's loss

Saturday's doubleheader between Hope and Calvin in Grand Rapids produced a championship-clinching performance for Hope on the men's side and a big upset for Calvin on the women's side.

In the men's game, the Flying Dutchmen used a balanced attack and a strong defensive effort to defeat Calvin, 65-61, to clinch the outright MIAA title. It was the 100th win for Hope in 193 meetings with the Knights. Harrison Blackledge and Brock Benson each scored 11 points, with Blackledge's two free throws with four seconds remaining sealing with win.

The loss ended Calvin's worst season in more than 30 years at 10-15, 5-9 in the MIAA. The Knights will not be in the MIAA tournament for the first time in its 25-year history.

Hope moved into position for an outright title earlier in the week with a 90-79 win at Kalamazoo, while Albion knocked Alma out of a potential co-championship with a 71-66 upset. The Britons overcame an eight-point deficit in the final 9:30 for the win. The Scots later bounced back for a 97-85 win over Olivet, giving them a 12-2 record in the MIAA and 19 wins on the season. It's the best finish for Alma since a co-championship in 1977-78 and the most wins for the program in 74 years.

On the women's side, Calvin put on a sizzling shooting display in handing Hope its first loss of the season, 88-77. The Knights shot 54.5 percent on 3-point tries (12 of 22), including five by Tiffany Karger, who came off the bench to score 16 points. Anna Timmer led five Calvin players in double figures with 18 points, while Angelique Gaddy led Hope, which had already clinched the MIAA title, with 22 points. Maura McAfee, who earlier in the week became the first Flying Dutch player to grab 1,000 career rebounds, had 15 points and 12 rebounds.

DePauw's Lattner lights up rival Wabash with 55-point performance

The DePauw men's team has had a tough season, but junior guard Luke Lattner had a performance for the ages for the Tigers against archrival Wabash last Wednesday at Neal Fieldhouse.

Lattner poured in 55 points – breaking a 29-year-old NCAC record and a school record that had stood since 1969 – as DePauw won a triple-overtime thriller, 114-110.

Playing all 55 minutes, Lattner made 19-of-37 shots from the field, including 4-of-11 from 3-point range, and 13-of-17 from the line. His 55 points broke the previous NCAC record of 50 points, set by Ohio Wesleyan's Scott Tedder in 1987, and the DePauw school record of 45, set by Tom McCormick against Ball State in 1969.

Another record for Denison's Holmes

With still one full season remaining to be played, Denison center Jordan Holmes has become the NCAC's all-time women's career leader in rebounding.

Holmes grabbed 22 rebounds on Saturday in the Big Red's 55-52 win over Allegheny to give her 1,219 rebounds in just 79 games, surpassing the previous conference record that had stood for nearly three decades. Ohio Wesleyan's Jill Myers pulled down 1,217 boards in 101 games from 1984-1988.

Holmes last week averaged 18.5 points per game, 18 rebounds and six blocked shots while shooting 74 percent from the field to help the Big Red sew up their first NCAC women's title since 2011, ending DePauw's four-year run as conference champs.

Holmes is already the NCAC career leader in blocked shots with 461.

Around the Great Lakes was written by Greg Chandler during the 2015-16 season. He is a veteran journalist and broadcaster who has followed Division III basketball for more than 25 years. He has called Hope basketball for radio, including the 2006 national championship run, and served as the first publicist for the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association.