Karsceal Turner – I Got Next!
Since my budget doesn’t allow me to follow all the hoops action I’d like to see, you simply have to endure my synopsis from a distance. In this case, the road outing against two Mid-Eastern Athletic (MEAC) games for the Bethune-Cookman University Cage Cats, took them to South Carolina State University and Savannah State University.
First stop, ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Adrien Coleman dropped 17 points, and Kevin Dukes scored 15 as Bethune-Cookman fended held off a feisty South Carolina State 60-52 in conference action Saturday.
The Cats beat the Bulldogs (4-13,0-4) for the seventh consecutive time dating back to 2011 while winning for the first time on the road since Nov. 15 at New Orleans.
Ricky Johnson was good for nine points and 11 rebounds as he and Dukes combined to score 11 of the first 17 Bethune-Cookman points of the second half that allowed Bethune-Cookman to take a 43-33 lead on an Alex Smith dunk with 12:53 remaining.
B-CU turned an 11-6 deficit into an 18-13 and lead on Allen Dempster’s lay-up with 7:07 left, they were up 26-24 at intermission.
Javoris Bryant was good for six points and six rebounds for the Wildcats. Khalif Toombs led South Carolina State with 16 points, while Darryl Palmer had 11 rebounds.
“Any time you win on the road is good. Now we have an opportunity to get two and make up for a loss at home. We’re getting better defensively. We improved from last game and made some adjustments. Bottom line is we played tough,” said Head Coach Gravelle Craig.
Second stop, SAVANNAH, GA. B-CU traveled 120 miles south to Savannah State for a Monday night contest televised on ESPNU. Folks, B-CU spent nearly 2 hours on the road for a cat-fight with last year’s regular season champs in raunchy Tiger Arena in front of 3,852 Tiger fans. Although the cats recovered from a 12-point first half to take the lead, Savannah State rallied to take a 43-40 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory Monday.
I know what it is to play Saturday (in front of a hostile environment), travel (by bus), Sunday, shoot-around Sunday, watch film Sunday, and be ready to hoop in a hostile environment Monday night, only to bus back home and practice Tuesday…after class, it isn’t like I’m making excuses because excuses are tools. I’m just saying, collegiate hooping is tough folks.
Arnold Louis came off the bench to lead the Tigers with 13 points and 11 rebounds as Preston Blackman made two clutch free throws with two seconds left to give Savannah State a 43-40 win over the Cats Monday night. It was the fifth straight win for the Tigers who improved to 10-9 overall and 4-1 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play.
The Wildcats trailed by as many as 10 in the first half, rallied to take a 33-28 lead with nine minutes left in action. SSU put together a 10-4 spurt to go ahead 41-38 with 1:02 on the clock.
SSU shot 37.5 percent from the field while Cookman shot 37.2 percent. Both squads were good for 50 percent in free throw shooting.
Adrien Coleman paced the Wildcats with 16 points and eight rebounds. Javoris Bryant, Ricky Johnson and Kevin Dukes each scored five for B-CU. Dukes registered his 1,000th career point, fittingly, on a three-pointer with 14:14 to play.
B-CU (7-13, 2-3 MEAC) will play hosts again when the Hornets of Delaware State Saturday at 4 p.m., followed Monday by University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and then FAMU all in the Richard V. Moore Gymnasium where they are very, very tough.
Coach Craig has a formula for staying in the MEAC championship race. “Six of the next eight games are at home. If we take care of home and split on the road, we’re in good shape come tournament time.”
You already know I’ll be back is my regular seat behind the bench and all over the gym giving you the business with I Got Next!
