TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Soufiyane Diakite never missed from the field en route to a career-best 27 points and pulled in 14 rebounds to lead Bethune-Cookman to its second Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title with an 89-77 triumph at rival Florida A&M Thursday night at the Al Lawson Center. The junior's 13-13 field goal shooting set a new school record and was the best performance in the NCAA this season, as the Wildcats (18-13, 12-4) finished with their second-most wins overall and in MEAC play under first year Head Coach Ryan Ridder.
Diakite was dominant from the get-go, while teammate Isaiah Bailey was clutch late. Out of his 24 points, maybe none was bigger than a step-back three with 3:16 remaining that gave BCU a double-digit lead for good. The duo was after it a play later when Bailey stole an Elijah Mayes pass and Diakite finished the play with a tip-in for the final of his 27 points.
The Wildcats shot 57.4% on the night, connecting on 31 of 54 attempts, and outscored the Rattlers (8-24, 7-9) by a vast 42-18 margin in the paint. Forward Shawntrez Davis also scored in double-figures with 17 points and joined Bailey with eight rebounds to lead BCU to its eighth consecutive win in the series.Â
Despite a 43-31 lead at halftime, the hosts fought back and went on a 9-0 midway through the latter half to take a brief 58-57 lead at 11:17.Â
However, the lead was shortly lived as Houston Smith buried a trey on the ensuing possession and BCU went on a 9-0 run of its own by holding FAMU scoreless for nearly two and a half minutes.
Diakite set the tone early with a wide-open dunk just 11 seconds into the game thanks to Bailey's first of seven assists.Â
The Rattlers scored on their third possession with a the first of Mayes' 25 points and led by as much as a 15-8 margin on a Marcus Barham three at 14:24, who finished with 28 to lead all scorers.Â
BCU answered with a 17-2 scoring spurt and held the Rattlers without a field goal for nearly seven minutes and led by as many as 14 in the opening half.
With the victory, BCU finishes with eight road wins, one off the most in program Division 1 history. Ridder also tied Gravelle Craig for most wins by a rookie BCU Head Coach with 18. Bailey extended his double-figure scoring streak to 22 straight, and his 9-10 free throw shooting moved him past Richard Toussaint (2003) for third most in BCU single-season history.Â
Bethune-Cookman finishes in a tie for first with Hampton and Savannah State. All three teams receive first round byes in next week's MEAC Tournament in Norfolk, Va. BCU is slotted as the second seed, and will play the winner of Morgan State and South Carolina State on Wednesday, Mar. 7 at approximately 8 p.m.
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