BATON ROUGE, La. — Bethune-Cookman shot better than 51 percent from the floor and built a double-digit first-half cushion before holding off a late push from Southern to claim an victory Saturday afternoon at the F.G. Clark Activity Center. The win is B-CU's fourth straight as they build momentum heading into the postseason.
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1st Half
Southern (13-16, 9-7) opened with early momentum, jumping out to a 17-11 lead behind a pair of 3-pointers from AJ Barnes and five quick assists from Cam Amboree.
Bethune-Cookman (17-13, 14-3) answered midway through the half. Trailing 19-18, the Wildcats ignited a 13-0 run over a three-minute stretch, turning a one-point deficit into a 32-19 advantage. Jakobi Heady sparked the surge with a dunk and a fast-break layup, while Jordan Johnson added a transition bucket and Arterio Morris finished inside the paint. The Wildcats forced four turnovers during the stretch and converted them into easy baskets.
Johnson's 3-pointer at the 4:44 mark extended the margin to 39-24, and Bethune-Cookman continued to capitalize in transition, finishing the half with 17 fast-break points.
Southern trimmed the deficit to eight behind late 3-pointers from Amboree and Fazl Oshodi, but the Wildcats closed the period strong at the free-throw line. Jakobi Heady went 4-for-4 at the stripe in the final 1:11, and Quentin Heady added two free throws to send Bethune-Cookman into the locker room with a 49-39 lead.
The Wildcats shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31) in the opening half and were perfect at the foul line (14-for-14).
2nd Half
Southern opened the second half on a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to five, highlighted by a dunk from Terrance Dixon Jr. and a 3-pointer from Amboree.
The Jaguars eventually erased the deficit midway through the half. After Amboree connected from deep at the 13:48 mark, Southern grabbed its first lead since early in the game at 58-57 on a layup by Oshodi with 13:21 remaining. A quick 6-0 run pushed the Jaguars in front 62-59.
Bethune-Cookman responded behind Arterio Morris and Jakobi Heady. Morris scored on consecutive drives, and Heady converted four key free throws to help the Wildcats regain control. A Daniel Rouzan layup at the 9:03 mark stretched the lead back to five at 69-64.
Southern continued to pressure, cutting the margin to one possession several times. Dixon Jr.'s tip-in with 43 seconds remaining pulled the Jaguars within 82-79.
From there, the Wildcats' defense held firm. Southern misfired on a potential tying 3-pointer in the final seconds, allowing Bethune-Cookman to escape with the three-point win.
- Arterio Morris led the Wildcats with 19 points on an efficient 8-of-12 from the field. He also recorded three steals.
- Daniel Rouzan collected 14 points and eight rebounds.
- Jakobi and Quentin Heady added 17 and 16 points, respectively.
- Cam Amboree led all scorers with 21 points.
- The Wildcats shot 51.9% overall but just 20% from three-point range.
- B-CU shot 56.3% from the free-throw line in the second half.
- The Wildcats out-rebounded the Jaguars 35-29.
The Wildcats prepare for their regular season finale against rival Florida A&M. The game will begin at 7:30 on Thursday, March 5th in Tallahassee.
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