UPDATE: Bethune-Cookman will meet Coppin State in the MEAC tournament opening round Tuesday at 6 p.m.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Ricky Johnson scored 21 points, Mikel Trapp had 19 and Bethune-Cookman beat South Carolina State 72-62 on Thursday.
Bethune-Cookman (11-20 overall, 7-9 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) scored the last 10 points of the first half -- including 3-pointers from Trapp and Johnson -- and led 36-32 at intermission.
The Bulldogs got as close as 40-39 on two Greg Mortimer free throws with 17:26 remaining, but a nine-point spurt for Bethune-Cookman midway through the second half put the Wildcats up 55-44, while South Carolina State went over five minutes scoreless to allow
the Wildcats to lead by as many as 14.
Johnson and Trapp combined to go 7 of 15 from beyond the arc. Trapp, playing his final home game, made three of his three-pointers in the second half.
Mortimer led South Carolina State (10-21, 7-9) with 18 points. Edward Stephens added 16 points and was 4 of 8 on 3-point attempts.
HEAD COACH GRAVELLE CRAIG
"Teams have been hurting us in the zone, so I wanted to get back to playing to man-to-man. We did a good job of responding to their run."
"We brought [Jeffon] Powell here for defense. He's a good on the ball defender. SCSU wa going five guards. I had to go small."
You always want a win heading into the tournament It's all about matchups now. Everyone's 0-0
MIKEL TRAPP
"It's a great feeling to get a win in my last game here. I'm speechless. I'm going to miss playing here."
"It was a matter of patience. I wasn't forcing anything."
“It's about momentum right now.”
RICKY JOHNSON
“This will give us some confidence heading into the tournament. Coach has been preaching momentum going into the tournament“
"We need everyone to step up. It's big to get everyone into the game."
NOTES: B-CU snapped a three-game losing and wins third straight game at home after losing first five home conference games ..Johnson was in double figures for the 13th and registered his fifth 20-point game ... Trapp has been in double figures four times in last six games ...Troy Simmons posted a season-high six assists... The Wildcats shot 58.7 percent, their second best total of the season.
