Bethel Athletics
Joshua Booth, Sports Information Director
NORTH NEWTON – Bethel College head men’s basketball coach Jayson Artaz was named the 2018-19 HoopDirt.Com NAIA Coach of the Week, the organization announced Monday.
Artaz qualified for the award after the efforts of the Threshers this past week. Bethel picked up two big wins, including a thriller ending in a double-overtime buzzer beater.
Coach Artaz’s squad headed to Texas for the St. Thomas Classic this weekend, and faced off against Huston-Tillotson in the opener on Friday. Trailing by 12 with 10 minutes remaining, the Threshers fought back to force overtime before hitting a 2OT buzzer beater to take an 82-79 victory. Bethel then took down St. Thomas – Houston, 89-80, on Saturday to close out the Classic. The win moved the Threshers to 9-6 in Coach Artaz’s first season – already an improvement from the seven wins by Bethel last year.
Coach Artaz is now eligible for the HoopDirt NAIA Coach of the Year, which will be selected from the pool of all the weekly winners at the end of the season. This is the first time a Bethel coach has won the weekly award, which is now in its fourth year of being selected.
Bethel is back in action on Jan. 2, when they host No. 12 Southwestern College at 7 p.m. in Thresher Gym.