Lady ’Cats defeat South Carolina

BY ANDREAS BUTLER
DAYTONA TIMES

Bethune-Cookman’s women’s basketball team defeated South Carolina State University 71-54 this past week at B-CU’s Moore Gymnasium.

The Wildcats came out dominating the paint and getting second chance opportunities, never trailing.

Jasmine Bugg’s jumper gave the Wildcats a 25-10 lead with 9:13 to go in the first half. Sarah Bolden’s lay up with two minutes to go in the first half put B-CU up 39-19. Two free throws from Demetria Frank with 12:12 to go gave B-CU a 49-32 lead.

"Demetria is a very versatile player that can do so much. She causes matchup problems for most teams," said Vanessa Inge, B-CU’s head coach.

22 points for Frank

The South Carolina Bulldogs came within 65-60 with a minute to go after Brijan Turner’s lay up, but the Wildcats converted free throws down the stretch.

"They put a lot of pressure on us with the zone defense in the second half, but we got to the line and hit our free throws," stated Inge.

Frank had 22 points and six rebounds and Bolden added 16 points and seven rebounds for B-CU.

"A friend of mine passed away this past week and it gave me more motivation to come out and play well tonight," commented Frank.

Jasmine Daniels added nine points, Bugg and Euneshia Proctor had seven apiece for B-CU. Whitney Wiley scored 16 points along with Brijan Turner’s 13 for SCSU.

Wildcats rip Lady Rams

The ladies routed Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) 74-40 on Monday at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach.

B-CU (10-10, 5-3) dominated inside on both ends of the floor.

"We came in confident and not cocky. Hopefully, this will get us ready for the big games this week against Morgan State and Coppin State," said Inge.

B-CU outscored WSSU 42-26 in the paint, out rebounded them 45-26 and held them to 30 percent shooting.

"We have high expectations. We are looking for our first winning season in a long time. We want a four our higher seed in the MEAC tournament. We still have work to do," added Inge.

Up 54-31 with 13 minutes left

Proctor’s lay up put B-CU up 24-14 with 5:59 to go in the first half. Jalissa Isaac’s three pointer gave the Wildcats a 35-19 lead with 29 seconds to go in the half.

WSSU got within 27-17 after Renee Rector’s three-pointer with 17:39 to play.

B-CU’s women found themselves up 54-31 after a three pointer from Jasmine Daniels with about 13 minutes remaining.

Proctor finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, Bolden had 12 points, and Frank contributed 12 points and eight rebounds for B-CU. Isaac and Daniels had eight points for B-CU.

Wildcats freshmen Parress Davis had six points and five rebounds while Porche Anderson’s five points and eight rebounds also stood out.

"Our starters did well tonight and allowed our younger players to come out and take advantage of playing time," noted Inge.

Bulldogs men slip past Wildcats

The men’s basketball team lost to South Carolina State 58-55 at Moore Gymnasium on Saturday.

SCSU led 56-55 when B-CU’s Albert Abrahams was called for offensive goal tending on a basket by teammate Javoris Bryant with 49 seconds remaining.

"The game wasn’t managed very well. The call could have gone either way. There were some missed calls in the game, but I am not complaining. We need consistency. We have to be consistent in what we do," said Clifford Reed, B-CU’s head coach.

B-CU cold in second half

Carrio Bennett’s lay up with 17.6 remaining sealed the deal for SCSU.

B-CU led most of the game until Jason Flagler’s jumper gave the Bulldogs a 45-44 lead with 8:02 remaining.

Arsenio Williams’ lay up with 5:19 pushed SCSU lead to 50-44.

The Wildcats were cold in the second half, shooting 26 percent. They went a span of 9:57 without a field goal from Kevin Dukes’ three with 13:58 to go, leading 42-36 to C.J. Reed’s three at 4:01 remaining trailing 52-50.

B-CU was able to get the ball inside in the first half. The Wildcats led 29-18 after a three pointer by Dukes with 5:55 to go in the first half.

South Carolina State shot 65 percent from the field and hit five three pointers in the second half.

Abrahams paced B-CU with 15 points and eight rebounds. Reed and Dukes had 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Bryant made his first collegiate start scoring 12 points for B-CU. "It was nice to start. I got into a groove. It is nice to help my team out, but I would rather have won," he said.

Freshman powers Wildcats over Rams

The men rebounded by blowing out Winston-Salem State University 76-46 on Monday at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach.

The Rams led 20-14 with 8:38 seconds to play in the first half then freshman guard Dukes caught fire.

Dukes scored 12 consecutive points, hitting four three pointers giving B-CU a 33-24 lead with 3:39 to go in the half.

"I got some good passes from my teammates and I was able to get some good looks and I converted," responded Dukes.

‘Played with a lot of energy’

In the second half, the Wildcats’ (13-9, 5-3) defense held the Rams to 15 shots.

"Our effort was great. We played with a lot of energy. We did well on defense ands was able to get out in transition and make some easy baskets," added Reed.

B-CU led 52-31 after Bryant’s lay up with 12:47 to play.

Dukes finished with 17 points hitting five out of eight three’s to pace the Wildcats.

"He did a good job, I started him to take pressure off him early. They worried about him and others got open. At first they were worried about other players," noted Coach Reed.

C.J. Reed added 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists while Abrahams contributed 16 points and five rebounds for the Wildcats.