DAYTONA BEACH, FL - With the Southwestern Athletic Conference's (SWAC) three seed firmly secured, the Wildcats round out the 2024-25 regular season as they host their bitter rivals in Florida A&M, Saturday, March 8 at 5:30 p.m. at Moore Gymnasium.

The Wildcats will honor three seniors ahead of the game Saturday in forward Jesus Carralero Martin, Gianni Hunt, and Reggie Ward. Jr. Senior Day is set to begin around 5 p.m. 

B-CU anticipates a max capacity crowd at the event, and general admission tickets are no longer available. Student admission is still available for the first 350 students with a valid B-CU ID. 



Saturday,March 8
Opponent: Florida A&M (13-17, 10-7 SWAC)
Time: 5:30 p.m. EST
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla. | Moore Gymnasium
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/swacsports1920
Listen: https://www.youtube.com/cateyenetwork
Live Stats: bcuathletics.com/stats




The Wildcats locked up the Southwestern Athletic Conference's No. 3 seed, improving to 7-2 at home on the year after a 78-71 wire-to-wire win over Grambling State, Monday night at Moore Gymnasium.

Graduate forward Jesus Carralaero Martin recorded his first career triple double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. It marks the fourth triple double in the history of the program, and the first since Marcus Garrett did it on Nov. 16, 2022. 

FIRST HALF

A dominant first ten minutes saw Bethune-Cookman race out to a 15-point lead at 25-10 after three free throws from Trey Thomas at just under 12 minutes to half. 

Of the first 25 points for B-CU, Thomas was responsible for nine including two threes. 

Grambling State scored five quick points off a pair of free throws and a Louis Hutchinson three ball, but jumpers from David Onanina and Thomas, as well as another trip to the free throw line on a three point attempt - this time from Kalil Camara - put the Wildcats up by 17 just past the under eight media. 

B-CU reached its highest lead of the day at 19 on a Thomas layup to go in front, 34-15. 

The Tigers fought back as B-CU struggled to put the ball in the basket, as over three minutes of scoreless ball and a a 15-2 Grambling run made it a 36-30 game with two minutes until the half.

B-CU brought the lead back up to 13 before two Tiger jumpers and a block sent the teams to the half with the Wildcats in front, 43-34. 

SECOND HALF

A sloppy start to the second half  saw Grambling State post a 10-4 run to trim the B-CU advantage all the way down to three at 47-44, but the Cats brought it right back to 10 on a Reggie Ward Jr. layup with 12 to play.

A Thomas turnover and a Ernest Ross dunk made it 56-50 right at the 10-minute mark, with a Seneca Willoughby steal and Thomas tunk making it a double-digit lead again. 

B-CU led by as much as 13 with under five to play as Rouzan's layup made it 66-53, but the TIgers came back to within four on a Kintavious Dozier three with under two to go. 

Rouzan's jumper made it 75-67 with a minute remaining, and the Cats were able to ice it at the free throw line after mulitple Tiger threes would not fall. 




Florida A&M is 13-15 on the year and 10-7 in SWAC play. Of those seven conference losses, one came at the hands of the Wildcats back on Jan. 4 in the SWAC opener for both sides. Trey Thomas scored only two of 62 B-CU points, with Brayon Freeman scoring 14, Ward. Jr. scoring 10, and Seneca Willoughby contributing 14. 

FAMU sits middle-of-the-pack in the conference on both sides of the ball, averaging 72 points per game and allowing 73.

The Rattlers are the best three-point shooting team in the conference, connecting at a 35 percent clip as a team while shooting the third-most threes in the conference. As a team, the Rattlers are second in the league from the floor at 44 percent shooting. 

Sterling Young is one of the SWAC's leading scorers, averaging 17 points per game. On the boards, the Rattlers have nine players averaging over three rebounds per game, with no singular player averaging over five. 



Saturday marks the 176th meeting in the historic rivalry between Rattlers and Wildcats. FAMU holds a 99-76 advantage, but the Wildcats have won five straight and lost only once to the Rattlers since joining the SWAC.



Follow Bethune-Cookman Basketball on Twitter and Instagram (@BCUHoops) for all of the latest news and updates. For all Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (@BCUathletics), Instagram (@BCUathletics) and www.bcuathletics.com.