DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - B-CU's season-high win streak of four games was snuffed out as Alcorn State ends the Wildcats bid at a perfect season at Moore Gymnasium with a 78-74 win, Saturday night at Moore Gymnasium.
FIRST HALF
A furious first few minutes of play saw both Bethune-Cookman (11-14, 8-4 SWAC), and Alcorn State (8-17, 8-4 SWAC) speed up and down the court - with the Braves taking an early 17-8 lead as B-CU struggled to find the bottom of the net.
The Braves lead reached double digits at the 7:38 mark as Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt's layup made it 22-12 before
Seneca Willoughby brought it back down to seven with a three ball.
A 9-4 run made it a five-point game at 26-21 with five minutes to go to the half as
Daniel Rouzan got to the line for a pair. Alcorn State closed the half strong - despite five late points from
Trey Thomas the Braves headed to the half up 39-30.
SECOND HALF
Trey Thomas opened the second half with a three that made ti 39-33. The Cats would go on to drop the deficit down to 45-40 with 14 minutes to play on another Willoughby three.
The Braves onslaught continued as they led by as many as 17 with only eight minutes to play on a Gaines-Wyatt trip to the charity stripe.
B-CU began chipping away as yet another Willoughby three and two
Jesus Carralero Martin free throws cut the lead to 10 at 64-54 with four and a half to go. They continued to put pressure on as Thomas forced contact and a trip the line to bring the defcit back to a manageable seven points with just under three to go.
Even as the Alcorn State lead reached ten again with only 55 seconds, back-to-back threes from
Kalil Camara and Thomas made it just a four-point Braves advantage with eight seconds left.
With just a few seconds left on the clock, the Wildcats were forced to play the foul game, and a Wildcat three went wide as the Braves were able to hold on for the 78-74 win.
- Trey Thomas continued his offensive dominance with 28 points with five threes, two rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
- Seneca Willoughby added 16 points on 5-10 shooting with four threes, five rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.
- Kalil Camara also added 16 as well as four boards, a block, and a steal.
- Jesus Carralero Martin dished out six assists and three blocks.
- Daniel Rouzan led the way with 10 boards.
- Alcorn State scored 36 points in the paint to B-CU's 20.
B-CU returns to Moore Gymnasium for a Blackout on Monday, Feb. 17. Tipoff against Jackson State is set for 7 p.m.
Admission is free with a student ID, with tickets starting at $10. The game will be streamed free at Youtube.com/CatEyeNetwork.
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