DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.  – Joe French scored 25, the Wildcats shot nearly 50 percent, and B-CU escaped with a 68-67 win over Prairie View A&M, Saturday night at Moore Gymnasium.
 
How It Happened
 
In a choppy first half for both teams that featured 22 total fouls, The Wildcats (6-16, 4-6 SWAC) trailed by as much as nine, but entered halftime down 35-30.
 
The Wildcats erupted out of the break, pulling even with the Panthers (4-14, 4-6 SWAC), 38-38 after five minutes of play. A 10-0 Wildcats run followed, capped off by a corner three from French to give B-CU its largest lead of the night at 46-38 with 13 minutes remaining.
 
Prairie View A&M continued to put pressure on the Wildcats, cutting the lead to three with six minutes left, but French again came up clutch with a strong and-one to again put the lead to eight.
 
Momentum once again swung back in the Panthers direction after a 9-0 run, and Prairie View A&M took their first lead of the half with three minutes remaining.
 
A back-and-forth came down to the final minute. Down, 67-63, a jumper from Marcus Garrett and brought the Wildcats to down only a point, and a dagger three from French would be the final bucket of the evening. A buzzer-beating putback fell short for the Panthers, and B-CU held on for the 68-67 win.
 
I thought that when we needed stops defensively tonight, we came up with the ball," Wildcats head coach Reggie Theus said postgame. "When you're an underdog most nights, and you're battling, as a coach you appreciate and respect your players. I have a lot of respect for our guys."
 
French takes the much-deserved spotlight in the win, but Garrett, who finished with 17 points in the game was key in the Wildcats victory:
 
"Marcus is a winner," Theus said. "He gets the most out of his talent. He's learning how to play at another level. That's so gratifying as a coach.
 
The Wildcats have enjoyed a winning record at Moore Gymnasium this season at 4-3.
 
"Best atmosphere in the conference," Theus said. "It's not even close."
 
Notes

• Three Wildcats finished in double digits for scoring. French had 25, Garrett finished with 17, and Kevin Davis scored 10
• Jakolby Long led the Wildcats with 7 rebounds. The Wildcats were out-rebounded, 31-28 as a team.
• The Wildcats scored 25 points off 19 Panthers turnovers.
• B-CU scored 19 second-chance points, 30 points in the paint, and 18 fast break points

 
Up Next
Next up, the Wildcats welcome the defending SWAC champions to Moore Gymnasium when Texas Southern comes to town, Monday Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m.
 
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