HOUSTON – Bethune-Cookman saw its three-game win streak snapped Monday evening inside Health & Physical Education Arena, as Texas Southern defeated the Wildcats in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Men's Basketball affair by a count of 69-62. The game was part of the conference's "Big Monday Matchup" partnership with ESPN, as the game was televised live on ESPNU.
 
Despite having three players reach double figures in the scoring column, Bethune-Cookman (9-15, 5-6 SWAC) was unable to make it two wins from two in its Texas road swing.
 
Texas Southern (8-16, 4-7) entered the game having lost each of its last two games at home, and five of the Tigers last six overall inside Health & Physical Education Arena dating back to January 2.
 
The hosts ran out to a quick 8-0 lead in under three minutes, as the Tigers looked towards the three-pointing shooting prowess of PJ Henry and Davon Barnes. The Wildcats would cut into the lead with three-pointers of their own coming from Marcus Garrett and Joe French, as BCU trailed 10-9 with 15:07 left in the half.
 
French would close the first half shooting a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
 
The Tigers stretched the lead back out to as many as nine (21-12) before Bethune-Cookman's Kevin Davis and French helped chase down the lead – with the Orlando native, French, turning a TXSO turnover into a jumper on the opposite end, cutting the lead at 23-21 with under eight minutes remaining.
 
However, the Tigers always seemed to have an answer for the visitors, as TXSO used a 7-3 run over the last four minutes of the half to lead it 36-28 as the first half came to a close.
 
For the hosts, it was Joirdon Karl Nicholas sparking the Tigers with a blistering 4-of-5 shooting touch from the field in the opening half, scoring nine points to match teammate Henry with nine points of his own.
 
BCU got to the free throw line five times during the opening 20 minutes, with the Wildcats converting all five attempts. But it was the 11 first half turnovers for the Maroon and Gold that saw TXSO score 15 points off those mistakes.
 
In the second half, the Cats trailed by double-digits at 38-28 after Barnes slammed home a dunk off a BCU turnover. But after later falling behind 44-35 at the under-16 media timeout, the Cats got a three-point play from Zion Harmon and a three-pointer from the corner by French that saw them pull within 44-41 just over a minute later.
 
TXSO rode Jordan Gilliam and John Walker III off the bench midway through the half to stretch the lead at 57-51, before the Wildcats used a Marcus Garrett layup followed by a Davis jumper from the wing to get within striking distance at 57-56 with 5:34 showing on the clock.
 
After Henry pushed TXSO back up to a 60-56 advantage, BCU would once again employ the services of Garrett and Davis to knot the game at 60-all – the first tie of the entire ball game. Walker would score the next four points for TXSO, respectfully, until a Harmon layup off a Tigers turnover made it 64-62 to the hosts with under a minute to play.
 
BCU would come up empty on each of its offensive possessions over the course of the final 57 seconds, as TXSO free throws from Barnes closed out the win for the Tigers.
 
Despite converting 16-of-17 at the foul line and shooting 40 percent from three-point range, the Wildcats bench was outscored 27-4 by the hosts, in addition to the Tigers outscoring the Cats in the paint by a 36-20 advantage.
 
Texas Southern was led offensively by Walker with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, as he added five rebounds and four assists. Behind him was Henry with 14 points and six assists, while Barnes collected 11 points and five rebounds.
 
BCU looked towards Garrett's 20-point outburst, with the guard also collecting nine rebounds and four steals. French supplied the Maroon and Gold with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc, in addition to his five rebounds and two assists. Harmon closed the night with 11 points, while Davis had 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
Bethune-Cookman will look to rebound Saturday, Feb. 11, as the Cats welcome SWAC opponent Alcorn to Moore Gymnasium with tip-off scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.
 
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