Courtesy of Bethune-Cookman Athletics
TAMPA, FL– The University of South Florida only led for a total of 28 seconds as Daytona Beach, FL HBCU Bethune-Cookman upset the American Conference opponent on the road, 77-69, Wednesday night at the Yuengling Center. It is the first win over South Florida for the Wildcats since 2005. The victory was punctuated by a monster dunk that made ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays.
The Wildcats (3-8) raced out to a 7-0 lead immediately thanks to five early points by Reggie Ward Jr. The Bulls (5-6) caught up with a Jimmie Williams layup at the 10-minute mark that made it 14-10, B-CU, but a missed USF three turned into a fast break dunk by Ward to bring the HBCU program’s lead back up to nine at 21-12.
The offenses slowed a bit for each team, but three-pointers down the stretch from Trey Thomas and Seneca Willoughby kept the Cats in front as they headed into halftime up 32-29. Neither side shot better than 40 percent in the first half, but a B-CU’s 4-7 mark from three was the difference over just 2-12 from deep for the Bulls.
A quick Bulls three, followed by a steal and dunk by Jamille Reynolds trimmed the Wildcat lead to just one at 35-34 two minutes into the second half. A USF three by Jayden Reid gave the Bulls their first – and only – lead of the night at 37-35, but B-CU took that bucket back as Ward’s fastbreak layup made it 37-all.
From there, the Wildcats ran up an 11-1 run, closed out by 8 straight from Thomas, to go in front, 48-37 with 14 minutes to play. USF would come as close as 58-54 with eight to go, but an emphatic dunk by Ward put an exclamation point on a dominant second half that saw the Wildcats cruise to the 77-69 win and put HBCU hoops on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays as Ward’s dunk came in at No. 7 on the top 10 countdown.
GAME NOTES
- For the second straight game, four Bethune-Cookman Wildcats scored in double figures on the night. This time, it was Ward leading the way with 19 on 7-10 shooting, followed by Thomas and Freeman with 18 each, and Rouzan with 12.
- Ward posted his fourth double-double of the year, adding to his 19-point outing 10 rebounds, as well as an assist and four steals.
- Freeman, Rozan, Carralero-Martin, and Ward each grabbed at least five boards.
- Trey Thomas dished out six assists, Freeman chipped in five.
- Jesus Carralero Martin blocked four shots on the night.
- B-CU made 22 of 24 free throws on the night.
- USF shot just 26 percent from three.
- B-CU scored 15 points on the fast break.