[photo by MC3 Jacob Goff, USS George Washington PAO]

NORFOLK, Va. – Brandon Tabb, Diamante Lewis and Reggie Baker combined  for 60 points, including all 10 of the Wildcats three-pointers and 18 of 19 free throws  to lead ninth-seeded Bethune-Cookman  to a  69-62 victory over eighth-seeded Delaware State  in the opening round of the 2017 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men's Basketball Championship Tuesday afternoon at the Norfolk Scope Arena.

The Wildcats (10-21) snapped a four-game losing streak in the tournament dating back to 2013 as they advanced to a Wednesday quarterfinal  against top-seeded North Carolina Central at 6 p.m. Delaware State finishes 10-22.

Bethune-Cookman won its third straight game and fifth of its last six.

After the Hornets erased a ten-point deficit to manage a 50-50 tie, Bethune-Cookman  scored  six consecutive points for a 56-50 lead  with four minutes to play.

The Wildcats would finish the game connecting on 11 of 12 free throws as they built their lead to 63-53 on two Baker free throws with 42 seconds left and 65-55 on two Lewis free throws with 22 seconds left.

Down 29-27 at halftime, the Wildcats made 10 of their first 14 field goals in the second half to take a 44-34 advantage.

Tabb, who was named Second Team All-MEAC before the tourney, netted a game-high 21 points. He was a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe while tallying nine rebounds and four blocks.

Baker bucketed four 3-pointers on his way to 20 points and Lewis provided 19 points and five assists.

Defensively, sophomore Quentin Forrest led the Wildcats with 11 rebounds.

The Hornets, who entered the tournament leading the league with a 36.6% accuracy from three-point distance, struggled from long range to a tune of 21.1-percent (4-of-19) while witnessing the Wildcats drilling 10 treys on 27 tries for 37-percent precision.

DSU had three players score in double figures as well. Sophomore DeVaughn Mallory paced the Hornets with 16 points, senior Mrdjan Gasevic netted 13 points and Gantz finished with 12. Sophomore Devin Morgan, a Third Team All-MEAC selection, was held to just five points.

HEAD COACH GRAVELLE CRAIG
"It was a tough game. Delaware State will always fight to the end."

"The first game of the tournament is always the toughest. We had some momentum coming in."

"In the second half, we were in attack mode. We wanted to get the line…be aggressive and make plays.

REGGIE BAKER
"Everything is going our way. We're playing defense, sharing the ball and doing the little things Coach has been telling us to do all season."

NOTES: Tabb set the single-season three-point record with his three for behind the arc; he now has 105, eclipsing Maurice Reddick's 203 total of 103...Baker has scored 20 or more in three straight games.