McKENZIE, Tenn. - Hot-shooting Bethel sprinted out of the gate and never trailed here Monday night, coasting to a 95-73 victory over Faulkner in a Southern States Athletic Conference matchup at Crisp Arena.

The Wildcats (9-5 overall, 2-2 SSAC) built a double-digit lead before the Eagles made their first basket. Faulkner (6-10 overall, 0-4 SSAC) climbed back in it, tying the game at 16 with 12:34 to play in the half. From there, however, it was all Bethel. By the half the Wildcats led by 15 and Faulkner never got closer than 11 the rest of the way. The largest lead came at 91-67 with two minutes left.

"We struggled on both ends of the floor tonight," Faulkner head coach Scott Sanderson said. "When you're not finishing at the rim and you can't make free throws, and you're not defending, you're not going to win many basketball games."

For the game, Bethel shot 55 percent from the field, while Faulkner made just 34 percent of its shots. The Wildcats pulled down 49 rebounds to the Eagles' 37, and made 27 of 33 free-throw attempts. Faulkner converted 11 of its 23 shots from the line.

Faulkner went almost five minutes at the outset without a basket, and quickly dug itself into a 14-2 hole. Sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Alex Anderson, the Eagles fought back to a 16-all tie at the 12-minute mark. The Wildcats used balanced scoring to slowly pull away, with six players scoring at least five points in the opening 20 minutes. Bethel shot 64 percent from the field, most coming at or near the rim, while Faulkner was an ice-cold 24 percent in the first half. The largest lead of the period was 18 for the Wildcats, who led 43-28 at the break.

The Eagles welcome Blue Mountain to Tine Davis Gymnasium Thursday night for another SSAC showdown. The game tips off at 7:30.