MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Despite 19 points from Chuckie Becton and 16 from Michael Walker, St. Thomas (5-6) fell to fifth ranked Bethel (14-1) 80-71 on Tuesday night in The Athlete's Meals Classic at the Fernandez Family Center.  It marked the second consecutive overtime loss for the Bobcats having lost in double-overtime on Monday night to Edward Waters.
 
Bethel was led by 31 points on 11-of-20 shooting by Clay Yeo and 23 points on five three-pointers by Zach Miller.
 
In addition to Becton and Walker, James Vice scored 13 points and Mikon Hewitt recorded eight points and six assists for the Bobcats.
 
A thrilling affair found the Bobcats up by two points with less than minute to go.  BC's Clay Yeo scored with 41 seconds remaining to tie the game at 65-65.  STU had a couple chances to win the game at the end of regulation, but came up short sending the game into overtime.  Bethel would go on to outscore the Bobcats 15-6 in the extra period.
 
The Bobcats trailed by just two points heading into intermission despite being outshot 55% to 38% from the field and shooting just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc in the opening half.  STU forced seven turnovers, while out-rebounding the Pilots 21-14, including a 10-1 advantage on the offensive glass in the first half.
 
Bethel opened up a nine-point lead in the second half, leading 48-39 with 13:42 to play.  The Bobcats then responded with a 9-0 run to tie the game 48-48 capped off by a Mikon Hewitt layup following seven consecutive points by Becton during the run, including a thunderous dunk off an assist by Hewitt.
 
BC's Zach Miller ended the run with a three-pointer at the 9:42 mark and the Pilots continued to lead until a jumper by Michael Walker off another Hewitt assist gave the Bobcats a 54-53 lead.  After two BC free throws, Hewitt hit a three-pointer to give STU the lead 55-57.  Miller however would answer again with a three-pointer.
 
STU would then go on an 8-2 run fueled by Walker and Vice to take a 65-60 lead before Yeo converted a three-point play to cut STU's lead back to back to two points.
 
St. Thomas returns to action with a road game at Sun Conference rival Ave Maria on Thursday, Jan. 8.