BOX SCORE
DAYTONA BEACH, FL—Junior guard Tyvon Williams tossed in 13 points and grabbed five steals, while senior Jason Flagler and junior Carrio Bennett chipped in 10 each to hold off Bethune-Cookman 58-55 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play Saturday.
Coach Tim Carter's improved to 10-8 overall, 4-3 in the league, while Bethune-Cookman dropped to 12-9 overall, 5-3 in the MEAC.
“It was a great win for us on the road against a very good Wildcat team”, said SC State head coach Tim Carter.”These guys are well coach and very disciplined and don't make many mistakes.”
Bethune-Cookman was led in scoring by Albert Abrahams with 15 points and eight rebounds, while C.J Reed tossed in 14 in the loss.
A jumper at the 10:26 mark by Albert Abrahams put the Wildcats ahead by eight, 21-13. A 3-pointer by Kevin Dukes extended the lead 11, 29-18 with 5:45 left in the first half. Senior guard/forward Jason Flagler nailed a pair of free-throws, followed by a 3-pointer by JUCO transfer Tyvon Williams cut the lead to four, 30-26 with 2:03 left.
Bethune-Cookman's C.J. Reed made a layup with 0:39 seconds left to close out the first half. The Wildcats led 32-26.
The Wildcats continue to building off a seven point lead, 35-27 on a layup by Alexander Starling at the 18:44 mark. The Bulldogs finally found their rhythm in the second-half cutting the lead to three, 39-36 off a 3-pointer by Carrio Bennett.
Jason Flagler hit a 15-foot jumper with 8:03 left in the game to give the Bulldogs there first lead of the night 45-41. A tip-in by Aresenio Williams increased the lead to six, 50-44 with under 6:36 left in the contest.
C.J Reed's 3-pointer cut the lead to two, 52-50 at the 4:02 mark. SC State hit a few free-throws down the stretch to hold on to a 58-55 victory over MEAC foe Bethune-Cookman.
Carter, stated “They are a very good perimeter shooting team so we had our hands full on the evening.” Abrahams did a good job for them on the inside getting second chance rebounds and we were fortunate to come away with the win.”
South Carolina State will return to action on Monday against Florida A&M in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference doubleheader to be aired-lived on ESPNU. The women's contest tip-off's off at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's at 9 p.m.
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