BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Madness begins for Bethune-Cookman men's basketball as the Wildcats open the 2024 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament with a quarterfinals matchup with No. 4 Southern, Thursday night at 9:30 p.m. at Bartow Arena 

Including a thrilling overtime win over Florida A&M in the regular season finale,the Wildcats, wrapped up the season with their best record and SWAC finish in the tenure of head coach Reggie Theus, earning the No. 5 seed.

The Wildcats begin their tournament run fresh of the heels of two SWAC postseason awards, as Zion Harmon and Jakobi Heady were named All-SWAC First Team and All-SWAC Second Team, respectively.

Bethune-Cookman is still seeking its first-ever SWAC tournament win since joining the conference back in 2021. The Wildcats are 0-1 in one trip to the tournament so far. 

Fans who are unable to attend the tournament can watch games live on ESPN+. Fans can listen free to the hometown radio call nationwide at Youtube.com/CatEyeNetwork, or locally in Daytona Beach on 1380 WELE.



Thursday, March 13
Opponent:  #4 Southern (18-13, 12-6 SWAC)
Time: 4 p.m. EST
Location: Birmingham, Ala. | Bartow Arena
Watch: https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/eab5dc47-2342-43dc-9eda-10f787fe5b8d
Listen: Youtube.com/cateyenetwork
Live Stats: https://bcuathletics.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Tickets: https://uabsports.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=SWAC&linkID=uab&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode=




Trailing by four with just 25 seconds to play, Bethune-Cookman emerged victorious over Florida A&M thanks to a three ball by Seneca Willoughby, Saturday afternoon at the Al Lawson Center.

The Wildcats  raced out to a quick 20-12 after a hot shooting start from Dhashon Dyson. 

Florida A&M trimmed it to single digits on a Chse Barrs layup with four minutes to play in the firt half, but Jakobi Heady made it a ten-point game again with a jumper.

Heady's bucket with just four seconds remaining in the half made it 37-26 as the two teams hit the break. 

The Wildcats lead, 40-29 after another three ball from Dyson, but the Rattlers cut it two a two-point game on a 15-6 run that made it 46-44.

Yet another three ball from Dyson made it a seven-point game again with eight minutes remaining, but five straight points brought the lead down to two once again at 51-49.

FAMU took its first lead of the second half as Jaley Speeer put the Rattlers up 52-51. They led by as much as three before Dyson was nails once again to tie things at 59-59 and send the ballgame to overtime. 

The two squads found themselves tied at 62-62 just over halfway through the extra minutes before back-to-back Rattler buckets made it 66-62. With 18 seconds remaining, he drilled a three ball to erase all Rattler hopes as B-CU held on for the 67-66 win. 

With just 24 seconds remaining, Seneca Willoughby grabbed an offensive rebound and took a foul, making both free throws to make it a two-point game at 66-64



The Wildcats have won three straight over the Jaguars, including a sweep of the season series.

Of those two wins, one featured a 14-point comeback back on Jan. 15, while the other was decided after B-CU guards Zion Harmon and Dhashon Dyson combined for 46 points on March 2. 

Southern finished the season 18-13 overall and 12-6 in conference play. Both the Jaguars and Wildcats finished the season tied atop the conference in home record at 11-2, compared to a 7-11 mark on the road. 

Southern ranks fourth in the SWAC in offense, averaging 71.5 points per game. The Jaguars finished atop the conference in defense, allowing just 68.5 points per game. 

The Jaguars shoot 44 percent from the field as a team and 33 percent from three. They shoot a second-worst in the SWAC 67 percent from the free throw line.

On the boards, the Jaguars rank bottom-three in the conference, grabbing 32 rebounds per game for a -1.4 rebounding margin. 

Southern ranks in the top-half in the SWAC in turnover margin and assist to turnover ratio. 

Brandon Davis leads the Jaguars in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game. He is the only Jaguar in the top-25 in the conference. 



Saturday will be the 10th meeting all-time between Bethune-Cookman and Southern. and the first postseason meeting. The Wildcats will look to even-up the all-time series at 5-5 with a win Thursday.


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