DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -
Dhashon Dyson gave Bethune-Cookman an unbelievable parting gift on senior night as a steal and score with mere seconds remaining erased a late deficit to give the Wildcats a 63-61 win over Alabama A&M, Saturday night at Moore Gymnasium.
Alabama A&M (15-19, 10-9 SWAC) scored the first six points of the ballgame until
Damani McEntire put Bethune-Cookman (13-14, 8-6 SWAC) on the board with a pair of free throws.
B-CU quickly erased a 10-4 AAMU lead as
Elijah Hulsewe's contested layup gave the Wildcats an 11-10 lead through eight minutes of play.
The Wildcats lead increased to 18-13 on a
Jakobi Heady three ball with seven to play in the half.
The Bulldogs tied things up at 20-20 with a 6-0 run capped off by a Cameron Tucker three.
B-CU immediately answered with an 8-0 of its own nearing the half. Two free throws by
Derrick Carter-Hollinger Jr. sent B-CU into the half leading 32-24.
Out of the half, the Bulldogs trimmed the B-CU lead at 32-28 before two Hulsewe putbacks made it 36-28.
Ten straight from AAMU gave the Bulldogs a 38-36 lead with 14 minutes to play.
The Bulldogs re-took the lead at 46-44 on a Jayland Randall layup with nine minutes remaining.
No team led by more than three over the next five minutes, as the game remained tied at 54-54 after an AAMU steal and transition dunk.
The Bulldogs took their largest lead of the second half at 59-54 after a Randall and-one with three minutes remaining.
Zion Harmon drew a foul with one minute remaining, sinking both shots to keep the Wildcats within two at 59-57 before EJ Williams made it a two-possession game again with a tough shot in the paint.
Harmon drew two more free throws and a corner trap play caught Cameron Tucker out of bounds to give B-CU the ball on their side of the floor with 30 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, the ball found Harmon at the top of the key. His three went wide, but
Dhashon Dyson gathered the offensive board, drawing a foul to head to the line. He cashed in on both to knot things at 61-61 with seven seconds to play.
With Alabama A&M with the ball and and seconds on the clock, the senior Dyson swiped the inbound pass, chucking up a prayer from from deep in the corner. The shot fell true, and Moore Gym went up into a frenzy as the Wildcats held on for the 63-61 win.
- Zion Harmon led the Wildcats with 15 points. He also added three rebounds and four assists.
- Dhashon Dyson and DJ Carter-Hollinger each scored in double figures with 12 and 10, respectively. Dyson also grabbed three steals.
- The Wildcats grabbed 12 steals on 19 AAMU turnovers.
- B-CU scored 24 points in the paint to AAMU's 30.
The Wildcats wrap up the 2023-24 home season at Moore Gym on Monday, Feb. 26. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. as the Wildcats host the Hornets of Alabama State.
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