MAYFIELD, Ky. - Saturday afternoon marked a golden opportunity for the Mid-Continent University men's basketball team to do two things. A victory over NAIA #11 Bethel University would have given Mid-Continent another statement victory after their big road win on Thursday, and it would also have given Mid-Continent control of their own destiny in the hunt for a TranSouth Athletic Conference title. Unfortunately for the Cougars, things did not go as they might have hoped.

Bethel (21-3, 4-1) used a huge first half, marked by torrid shooting and strong rebounding, to put the Cougars (15-8, 3-2) in a hole they could not overcome, and in the process made a statement of their own with an 81-62 win at Mayfield High School.

Mid-Continent held the lead four times in the early going, but Bethel answered each time to tie the score. The Wildcats then surged in front with a 7-0 run to take a 13-8 lead, and they never looked back. Mid-Continent pulled to within three twice in the ensuing moments, and they trailed by just five at 21-16 when Bethel pieced together an 11-0 run that pushed their lead out to 32-16. After Gavin Scott scored with 6:03 remaining in the first half, Bethel went on another long run - this one an 11-3 blitz - pushing their lead to 22 points at 43-21, and at intermission, the margin was 26, with Bethel leading 50-24. In the second stanza, Mid-Continent used a 12-2 spurt to cut the deficit to 22 at 67-45, but Bethel was able to quell the momentum and stifle the Cougars' comeback attempt. Mid-Continent finished the game on a 6-0 run, but it proved to be too little, too late, as Bethel claimed the win 81-62.

Gavin Scott led the Cougars in both scoring and rebounding, as he tallied a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards in the contest. Charles Peden tied for the team lead offensively with a dozen tallies, while Lee Ames (11) and Antonio Davis (10) also scored in double figures for the Cougars. Mid-Continent made 24-of-60 (40%) shots in the game, but only 1-of-7 (14.3%) from behind the 3-point line and 13-of-23 (56.5%) at the foul line.

Mid-Continent will step out of TranSouth play on Tuesday night, heading to Nashville, Tenn. to take on the Trojans of Trevecca Nazarene University (7-12) - a recently departed member of the TranSouth now in the NCAA D-II Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.