FORT WAYNE, Ind. - For the second consecutive season, Bethune-Cookman finds itself on the losing end of a bout with Purdue Fort Wayne as they fell , 91-69, Tuesday night at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
Bethune-Cookman (0-3) fell behind early as Deangelo Elisee's free throws made it 17-9, PFW, through the first seven minutes. The Mastodons (2-1) made it a 13-point lead with eight to play in the half on a fast break layup from Rasheed Bello.
Gianni Hunt brought the Cats back with back-to-back buckets, capitalizing on a Mastodons turnover to pull to within 24-19. A tip-in by
Daniel Rouzan off a
Brayon Freeman layup made it a one-point game, and a
Kalil Camara three ball a minute later made it 26-all with five to go before the break.
B-CU's first - and last - lead of the night came on a
Jesus Carralero Martin layup off a
Gianni Hunt pick-and-roll that made it 28-26, B-CU.
Five free throws in the final four minutes until halftime made it 37-30, Mastodons as the two squads hit the break.
Five points in the first 45 seconds of the second half made it a two-point game once again before Bwllo and Maximus Nelson traded threes to put the Mastodons up 10 once again.
The free-throw-laden contest saw Purdue Fort Wayne sink nine of ten second-half shots from the charity stripe as the game's pace ground to a halt in the dying minutes of play. The Mastodons made 17-21 free throws on the night to 6-9 for B-CU.
Eric Mulder capped off the win with a made tip-in with 45 seconds to play to close the book, on a 91-69 win for the Mastodons.
- Daniel Rouzan led B-CU offensively, scoring 14 on 6-9 shooting with six boards and a block. He becomes the third different Wildcat to lead the team in scoring over the team's first three games.
- Brayon Freeman was the only other Wildcat in double-figures - he scored 13 with a pair of steals.
- Gianni Hunt scored nine, adding seven assists, two rebounds, and two steals.
- Nine different Wildcats scored in the contest.
- The Mastodons scored 30 points off turnovers, and 19 points on the fast break.
- B-CU blocked seven shots as a team. They were only blocked twice.
Next up for B-CU, the Wildcats will get set for the 2024-25 home opener - their only non-conference home game - as they host South Carolina State on Saturday, November 16. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
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