Feb. 22, 2011

By Dan Ryan
B-CUAthletics.com

WASHINGTON - Why would you expect anything else but a dramatic, last-second finish from Bethune-Cookman in its Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular season road finale? The Wildcats' perfect run on the road concluded Monday night with a 66-64 heart stopper at Howard on Stanley Elliott's tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining.

B-CU (17-11 overall, 11-3 MEAC) won its eighth straight on the road, with six of the seven conference games and a win at North Carolina Central decided by three points or less in the final 30 seconds or overtime. Along with a December victory at Florida A&M - B-CU's the only road team to win in Tallahassee so far this season - the Wildcats made school history with an 8-0 conference road mark.

The Wildcats made some more history with a victory that assured them of a third consecutive winning season, marking the first time since 1975-78 a B-CU team has finished above .500 three straight years. B-CU also remained a game ahead of Morgan State for the MEAC lead.

"We were lucky to come out of here with a victory, but that's what we've done all year - find a way to win," said B-CU coach Cliff Reed. "It's a testament to everyone's hard work this season. The guys gutted it out and played hard after an emotional double overtime win Saturday at Hampton."

Just like the Hampton victory, B-CU persevered down the stretch when its shots stopped falling, getting key defensive stops and that one or two big plays to pull out the victory.

Despite going without a field the goal the final 5:50, Howard (6-21, 4-10) tied it on two Mike Phillips free throws with 10.1 seconds remaining. Kevin Dukes missed a three-pointer, but Elliott put the ball back in from the right side for the game-winner. After a time-out, Elliott also stole the inbound pass to preserve the victory.

"I just always crash the boards. Coaches tell me not to watch the game," Elliott said. "When Dukes shot it, I thought he was going to make it, but when it popped, I told myself I needed to get that tip."

CJ Reed, named MEAC player of the week earlier in the day, led all scorers with 23 points, including four three-pointers and a 9-10 effort from the line. The junior gave B-CU a 64-62 lead with two free throws with 21 seconds left.

Albert Abrahams registered his first double-figure game of the season with ten points. Elliott also scored ten, and Kevin Dukes added nine. Dukes had three three-pointers, while Elliott hit both from behind the arc and was 4-6 overall from the field.

"I'm not the best three-point shooter," Elliott said. "But if I make a good percentage or a good amount of shots, then it's going to be a good night for us. Coach Gravelle Craig said if I and Kevin hit our shots, we were going to win."

The first half was B-CU's crisp ball movement vs. Howard's improved shooting and post play led by MEAC Rookie of The Week Alphonso Leary, who finished with a career-high 21. The Wildcats shot a blistering 63.6 percent from the field and led by as many as seven before taking a 36-32 halftime lead when Reed drained a three-pointer at the buzzer.

 Then the shots stop falling. B-CU was only 9-28 from the field the final 20 minutes, with only four of those shots coming inside. The Wildcats compensated by outrebounding the Bison 18-11.

B-CU hosts South Carolina State Saturday at the Ocean Center at 4 p.m.

NOTES: B-CU's winning streak is now at four straight ... The Wildcats' 10 3FGs were a season-high; B-CU scored more from behind the arc than inside ... Javoris Bryant led the Wildcats with 6 boards; B-CU is 6-0 this season when Bryant has 6 or more boards and 5-2 when Elliott reaches double figures ... B-CU 4-0 when opponents shoot less than 25 percent from 3 FG ... B-CU 10-1 when shooting 46 percent or better from the field ... B-CU closes it regular season road trip with an 8-6 record plus two neutral site losses in Las Vegas; team logged 13,186 Air Miles and played in all 4 continental US time zones with only two layovers in Atlanta; B-CU had the same bus driver, Brooks, for six of its eight wins on its current road win streak.