DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Southwestern Athletic Conference play opens this weekend at the rival Florida A&M Rattlers come to town for the first conference contest of the 2023-24 season, Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. at Moore Gymnasium.

Saturday's contest is a Gold Out, with fans encouraged to wear gold as they support B-CU. 



Saturday, January 13
Opponent:  Grambling State (4-11, 1-1 SWAC)
Time: 4 p.m. EST
Location: Moore Gymnasium
Watch: Youtube.com/CatEyeNetwork
Live Stats: https://bcuathletics.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Tickets: https://bcuathletics.com/common/controls/adhandler.aspx?ad_id=19&target=https://www.ticketmaster.com/search?q=bethune-cookman%20

Monday, January 15
Opponent:  Southern (8-7, 2-0 SWAC)
Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
Location: Moore Gymnasium
Watch: Youtube.com/CatEyeNetwork
Live Stats: https://bcuathletics.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Tickets: https://bcuathletics.com/common/controls/adhandler.aspx?ad_id=19&target=https://www.ticketmaster.com/search?q=bethune-cookman%20



A high-flying start for Bethune-Cookman saw them keep things tight with Florida A&M after big dunks from Reggie Ward Jr. and Jakobi Heady.

The Wildcats offense erupted at the 14 minute mark, racing out on an 20-4 run to jump in front, 31-18, with all B-CU starters contributing at least five points. 

That run improved to 34-10 as B-CU jumped all over the Rattlers, 42-21 including a highlight-reel alley-oop from Zion Harmon to Dhashon Dyson.

The Rattlers finally settled things down nearing the end of the half, but a Shannon Grant and-one was followed up by a Harmon layup as the teams hit the break with B-CU up 54-33. 

The Rattlers opened the half on an 8-2 run, prompting a Wildcats timeout up 56-41, the highest-scoring first half of the season for B-CU against DI competition. 

FAMU took things to as close as 11, but the B-CU lead quickly reached 23 on a Dyson three with 12 minutes remaining. 

The game hit hit the under eight media with B-CU in cruise control up 82-64 with both Ward and Dyson eclipsing 20 points.

A the two-minute mark, a 6-0 Rattler run made it 94-79, prompting a FAMU timeout down just 15, but they could not string together much else offensively as the horn sounded with B-CU taking it, 98-86.



Grambling State is 4-11 this season, splitting last weekend's conference contests against Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern. Their win over Texas Southern marked their first Division I win this season. 

The Tigers are averaging 65 points per game and allowing an average of 75. They are shooting 43 percent from the field as a team and just 29 percent from three. The Tigers have a -1.3 turnover differential. 

Junior guard Kintavious Dozier leads the Tigers with 12.8 points per game on 47% shooting. Sophomore forward leads Grambling State with 6.5 rebounds per game. Five different Tigers have double-digit steals this season.

Southern is 8-7 this season, sweeping their first SWAC weekend with wins over Texas Southern and Prairie View A&M.

Notable non-conference wins for the Jaguars include an 85-71 win over UNLV, and a 60-59 win over #21 Mississippi State.

The Jaguars are scoring just over 75 points per game and allowing an average of 72 to opponents. 

They are shooting 44 percent from the field and just over 30 percent from the three.

Junior Guard Tai'reon Joseph has been one of the SWAC's most prolific scorers, averaging 19.1 points per game. No Jaguar avearges over five rebounds per game, but six average over three. Two Jaguars have racked up at least 25 steals.



Saturday marks the 11th meeting all-time between Grambling Stateand B-CU, with the Tigers holding an 8-2 advantage. The Wildcats have lost three straight to the Tigers. 

Monday will be the eighth meeting between B-CU and Southern, with B-CU trailing in the series 2-5. Last time out, B-CU took down the Jaguars, 60-53 a season ago. 


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