DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jakobi Heady poured in 19 points and Derrick Carter-Hollinger Jr. added 15 points of his own Saturday afternoon, but it was not enough as Bethune-Cookman suffered a heartbreaking 86-85 loss to fourth-seeded Arkansas State in an opening round game of the 2024 Ro College Basketball Invitational at the Ocean Center.
 
In a game that saw the lead change eight different times and was tied on six other occasions, Bethune-Cookman was unable to secure a win in what was the Wildcats first postseason appearance since 2011.
 
Trailing 86-83 with six seconds remaining in the contest, Bethune-Cookman (17-17) picked off an inbounds pass by Arkansas State's Izaiyah Nelson at midcourt. Reggie Ward Jr. gathered the ball and raced to the bucket for the two-handed dunk, but the ensuing inbounds pass went in quickly to Caleb Fields with nobody around to allow the final second to tick off the clock and preserve the win for the Red Wolves.
 
Arkansas State (19-16) led by as many as nine (9) six times throughout the game, with the last being a 74-65 advantage stemming off a Hicks layup with 7:55 to play.
 
Elijah Hulsewe would connect on two of his eight points in the contest, as well as a dunk from Jakobi Heady as he went coast to coast to pull the Wildcats to within 74-69. After a Fields free throw for ASU, Hulsewe was once again heavily involved in the offense as he connected on a pair of free throws and a layup to bring his side within a 75-74 deficit with under five minutes to go.
 
BCU took its first lead since a 6-5 advantage in the early stages of the first half, when Carter-Hollinger Jr. completed the three-point play at the foul line, giving the Wildcats a 77-76 edge with 4:02 showing on the clock.
 
The two teams traded the lead back-and-forth over the next two minutes as the Wildcats held an 83-82 advantage off a Carter-Hollinger Jr. putback with 1:37 remaining in regulation.
 
Moments later, Derrian Ford converted a layup with 56 seconds left to put the Red Wolves back on top, 84-83. Bethune-Cookman had an opportunity to answer as a Dhashon Dyson jumper in the paint rimmed off allowing Ford to snatch down the rebound. Freddy Hicks immediately converted with a shot in the paint to push the ASU lead at 86-83.
 
Bethune-Cookman trailed by as many as nine (9) three times in the opening half.
 
James Henderson Jr. put back a layup off the glass to tie the game at 12-all with 14:33 remaining in the opening half. ASU countered with an 11-2 run over the course of the next five minutes.
 
A Nelson dunk was followed by a Hicks layup – added a Fields drive to the bucket for the layup, to put the Red Wolves up 18-12. Another Hicks layup off a fastbreak made it 20-12, as BCU went six possessions without scoring before Heady's dunk ended a four-minute scoreless drought for the Wildcats.
 
Dyondre Dominquez's three-pointer extended the lead for ASU at 23-14 with 9:51 left.
 
With Arkansas State up 28-19 after a Dominquez dunk, Seneca Willoughby netted his first three-pointer of the opening half for BCU. Hulsewe added a dunk off the assist from Damani McEntire to chip into the lead, 29-24.
 
Both teams played at a frantic pace towards the tail end of the first half, trading baskets with Zion Harmon eventually connecting on a pair of free throws to chop the Wildcats deficit, 32-28.
 
Dominguez would end the BCU scoring run with two free throws, while teammate Hicks added a pair himself – using a Dominquez fastbreak layup moments later to push the ASU lead back to a nine-point advantage, 38-29.
 
Carter-Hollinger Jr. went to the basket for a layup, and Dyson picked the pocket of Dominguez and drove to the hole for his own layup to make it 38-33. Another Harmon layup brought the Cats to within 38-35 with 51 seconds remaining. But it would be Julian Lual putting back an Avery Felts missed layup for his only points of the opening half to give the Red Wolves a 40-35 advantage at the break.
 
ASU was led in scoring by Hicks with 21, as teammates Fields (16), Ford (12), Nelson (12) and Taryn Todd (10) turned in double figures scoring as well.
 
Bethune-Cookman was led on offense by Heady with a 19-point outburst. Carter-Hollinger Jr. supplied 15 and Dyson added 14 points. Harmon finished the day with 11 points.
 
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