BATON ROUGE, La. -- Marcus Garrett knocked down a three-pointer as time expired in overtime to lift the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats and erase the 15 point second-half deficit to upset the Southern Jaguars 87-84 [ot] in Southwestern Athletic Conference action in the F.G. Clark Activity Center. 

How it Happened

The Wildcats [8-20, 6-9 SWAC] raced out to an early 11-3 lead when the Jaguars [15-13, 8-3 SWAC] answered back with a 12-2 run to capture the lead, 15-13 with 12:47 remaining the first half. However, B-CU paused the bleeding on a Kevin Davis dunk to tie the game at 15. 

The Jags slowly built a 20-15 lead when the Cats answered with a 5-0 run to tie the game at 20-20. After trading baskets, Bethune-Cookman went on a 9-1 run to recapture the lead, 29-22 with 3:47 remaining in the first half. Undeterred, SU closed the half on a 12-4 run to take a 34-33 lead into intermission. 

Southern used a 21-7 run to open the first six minutes of the second half to extend their lead, 55-40 with 13:41 remaining. 

Bethune-Cookman slowly chipped away at the lead, outscoring Southern 29-16 over the next 11-minutes, cutting the lead 71-69 after a pair of Kevin Davis free-throws with 2:33 remaining in intermission. Then, Mikey West knocked down a long-range jumper, giving the Wildcats a 72-71 lead with 1:21 remaining. Southern answered with a three-point shot to recapture the lead, 74-72. With 28-second remaining, Marcus Garett knocked down a floating jumper to tie the game 74-74 and send the contest to overtime. 
 

In overtime, it came down to the last second when Garett knocked down a three-pointer as time expired to upset the Jaguars 87-84.

"Marcus earned the right to have that opportunity," Wildcats head coach Reggie Theus said after the game. "He's a guy who's worked his tail off all year on offense and defense, and he earned that shot."

The Wildcats outlasted Southern despite a lack of depth that includes two rotational big men. 6'7" Calvin Poulina has missed 14 games since injuring his hand on Jan. 8. 6'9" Dylan Robertson has been out since Feb. 5, when he took a hard fall against Prairie View A&M. 6'6" Jonathan Bolden was the biggest Wildcat to take the floor against the Jaguars. For the Wildcats to keep things close, it took full effort from everyone.

"Our bench was fantastic tonight," Theus said. "Mikey (West) and Jonathan gave us some huge minutes and gave us the opportunity to keep everybody fresh for the whole game. The buy-in from this team up and down the roster has been incredible all season." 

Theus continued to praise the effort and teamwork of his squad.

"The compete level and fight that this team shows every night has really been oustanding. They're a great group to coach and to watch and they've taken things to another level as we've gone through the season. Everybody knows their role, and they do their job. They really are a special group to coach." 

By The Numbers

• The Wildcats are 2-0 in overtime under head coach Reggie Theus, defeated Alcorn in Overtime 71-63 in Lorman, MS [2/8/22]
• Four Wildcats scored in double-digits led by Kevin Davis [24] and Marcus Garret [21] his third consecutive game of 20 plus points for the sixth time this season. Joe French [17] and Mickey West [14] rounded out the double-digit scorers.
• Wildcats forced 20 turnovers.
• B-CU shot 49 percent [29-of-59] from the floor
• Bethune-Cookman shot 10-of-22 from long range led by French 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. 

UP NEXT

The Wildcats conclude their Louisiana road swing at Grambling St. Hobdy Assembly Center Monday, Feb. 28, for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff. 

 

--#HailWildcats--