MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - 14th ranked Bethel (11-2) defeated no. 21 St. Thomas (8-3) 85-82 Monday night in the STU Classic at the Fernandez Family Center. 
 
Timothy Sada led the Bobcats with 16 points in the defeat, scoring 14 points in the second half.  Mikon Hewitt and Armand Shoon each scored 15 points, while Fotios Malelis came off the bench to score 14 points.  Raheem Bowman had 11 points and six rebounds, while Kristers Zeidaks scored nine points and pulled down nine rebounds to go along with six assists.
 
Both teams shots nearly identical from the field with Bethel shooting 47% and STU shooting 46%. Bethel won the battle on the boards however, out-rebounding the Bobcats 49-33 including a 17-9 advantage on the offensive glass.
 
It was a busy night at the free throw line for both teams with a combined 70 free throw attempts between the two teams.  Bethel went 23-38 (61%) from the charity stripe, while STU was 18-32 (56%).
 
Bethel led 42-38 at the halftime, then the Bobcats battled back to take a 47-46 lead with 16:28 to play on a Tim Sada layup.  STU extended its lead to five points on a sequence with 11:30 to play as Justin Johnson hit a reverse layup followed by a three-pointer by Sada.   
 
The Pilots pulled away late, leading by eight with 30 seconds to play.  Sada hit a three pointer to cut the lead to five points and Hewitt scored on a layup to make it 83-80.  Bethel's Jordan Coon and Jack Hindig each hit free throws in the final seconds to keep the Bobcats out of reach despite another late layup by Hewitt.
 
St. Thomas returns to action on Tuesday at 7 p.m. vs. Florida National as the STU Classic continues at the Fernandez Center.