DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Wildcats led wire-to-wire as they defeated SWAC-leading Jackson State, 82-71, Saturday evening at Moore Gymnasium.



Zion Harmon scored the first five points of the ballgame as Bethune-Cookman (9-10, 4-2 SWAC) prompted a Jackson State (8-11, 4-2 SWAC) timeout, but the Wildcats continued their strong start, jumping out 11-4 on a Jakobi Heady pullup jumper.

Back-to-back dunks and a deep three from Zion Harmon made it 18-13. A few minutes later, a Heady steal turned into a Derrick Carter-Hollinger Jr. layup to make it 23-15, B-CU. 

With nine minutes remaining , Carter-Hollinger's three off drive and kick from Dhashon Dyson made it a double-digit lead for B-CU at 28-18. 

Another deep three, this time a step-back from Harmon made it 38-26 with three minutes to play in the half. 

Jackson State scored six straight with two minutes to play in the half to make it a four-point
ballgame at 38-34. The teams traded baskets and B-CU went into the half up 41-37.

A Harmon and-one and a pair of Heady free throws made it 53-45 five minutes into the second half. Another Heady alley-oop brought the B-CU lead back up to 12 three minutes later. 

Harmon crossed the 20-point mark with a step-back jumper that made it 66-47 to give B-CU its largest lead of the game at the time as the two teams hit the under-12 media timeout. 

A 7-0 run from JSU made cut the Tigers' deficit to 68-56 with nine minutes remaining. The Tigers cut it to single digits on a pair of free throws by Coltie Young to make it 70-61. 

Carter-Hollinger's deep jumper broke an Wildcats offensive funk as B-CU continued to stave of Jackson State, up 75-66 with three minutes to play. 

Jackson State cut things to as close as seven, but back-to-back shots by Carter-Hollinger and Dyson closed things out at 82-71.

• In his return to the B-CU lineup, Zion Harmon posted a team-high 23 points on 8-15 shooting, including 4-8 from three with three rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
• Jakobi Heady posted 20 points on 9-15 shooting with two boards, two assists, two steals, and a block.
• Dhashon Dyson, Reggie Ward Jr., and DJ Carter-Hollinger also scored in double figures for B-CU. 
• Ward led B-CU with 12 rebounds. 
• The Wildcats shot 53 percent from the floor and 46 percent from three. 

   

The Wildcats will prepare for the national stage as they get set to host Alcorn State for an ESPN2 broadcast on Monday, Jan. 29. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. Monday's contest is a whiteout, with fans receiving free t-shirts ahead of the game.

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