DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Isaiah Bailey scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Malik Maitland had 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and Bethune-Cookman beat Norfolk State 78-55 on Monday night.

The Wildcats (15-13 overall, 9-5 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) won for the third straight and fifth in the last six against a Norfolk State (13-15,9-4) team won the first matchup of the season 85-72 in the  conference opener.

BCU held the Spartans to 22.1 percent (17-77) shooting from the field, the lowest for an opponent in the Ryan Ridder era. The previous low was 24.6 percent by Trinity Baptist earlier this year.

Cletrell Pope added 11 points and 12 rebounds for Bethune-Cookman (15-13, 9-5 MEAC). Leon Redd scored 10.

BCU pulled away from a 15-15 first half tie by holding the Spartans scoreless for six minutes while building an 11-point advantage at 26-15 on a Maitland lay-up with 2:38 left in the first half. BCU led 30-20 at halftime.

In the second half, Norfolk State got it under 10 on three occasions, the last with 11:31 on a Kashaun Hicks three-pointer that made it 43-34.  BCU would score the next five points and gradually built a 20-point advantage at 64-44 on a Maitland jumper with 4:23 left.

Jermaine Bishop scored 18 points and Devante Carter had 17 points and nine rebounds for Norfolk State  



NOTES: The win clinched a winning MEAC record for the third consecutive year; that's the first time that's happened in BCU's Division I era … The Wildcats and Morgan State finished Monday tied for fourth in the standings, now a half-game behind Norfolk State and two behind North Carolina A&T.