BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY "WILDCATS"
The Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University enter Monday night’s tilt in a tie for second place in the MEAC at 7-2 with Savannah State University. Both squads are just a half-game behind Norfolk State University who sits atop the conference on shaky ground after dropping the last two contests that includes a 67-50 loss to Delaware State on Saturday night in Dover, De. The defending champions have lived up to the billing in pursuit of keeping the crown in Daytona Beach with the highly versatile Wildcats sporting arguably the most athletic lineup in the league. B-CU has four players that reside in the MEAC’s top 30 in scoring with 5-9 guard Kevin Dukes leading the team sitting 16th in the league averaging 11.6 points per game. Anthony Breeze, who missed the first matchup in Durham, N.C. with an ankle injury, is second on the team averaging 10.6 points a game which puts him 23rd in the league, while senior forward Garrius Holloman (10.5 ppg, 25th) and Adrien Coleman (10.4 ppg, 26th) round out the top four for B-CU. Bethune-Cookman also sports two student-athletes in the top 20 in rebounding in the league as Holloman grabs 6.6 rebounds per game to sit 10th, while Breeze is 19th averaging 5.2 rebounds per tilt. The Wildcats are coming off a 92-79 victory against North Carolina A&T over the weekend where Dukes lit up the Aggies hitting 8-for-14 from three-point range to record a career-high 30 points. Holloman recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Coleman added 16 points to record double figures for the eighth straight game, and Breeze finished with 10 points in the win. B-CU is led by acting head coach Gravelle Craig in his first season and is currently 10-13 overall on the season, but sport a 6-1 record at Moore Gymnasium this season including a perfect 4-0 in conference play.

UP NEXT
After Monday night’s final matchup against Bethune-Cookman, the maroon and gray of North Carolina Central University return to the homestead for the final times in the 2011-12 season as they get set to entertain fellow new conference member Savannah State University on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 4:00 p.m. and a "Senior Night" contest against South Carolina State University on Monday, Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m. from McDougald-McLendon Gym. After the final two-game homestand the Eagles will spend the last five games of the season on the road.

LAST MEETING:  NCCU-69 BCU-64 (JAN. 9, 2012)
DURHAM, N.C. (NCCUEaglePride.com) – North Carolina Central University broke open a tight-knit ballgame with a 15-0 second half run, using a game-high 21 points from Ray Willis (Atlanta, Ga.) to propel the Eagles to the 69-64 win over defending regular-season champion Bethune-Cookman University on Monday night inside McDougald-McLendon Gym.  In the fourth meeting between these two programs since 1954, the Eagles and the Wildcats came out slugging from the get-go, but it was B-CU who threw the first blow taking a 15-6 lead after  a 12-2 run to charge out in front.  The Wildcats came out scorching from the outside going 4-for-7 early and led 20-11 at the midway point of the first half.  Senior guard Tramar Beaman (Williamstown, N.J.) came off the bench after starting point guard Emanuel Chapman (Raleigh, N.C.) recorded his second foul and sparked the maroon and gray by hitting two three-pointers that sparked a 10-2 Eagle spurt to cut the deficit to one at 22-21 with 6:03 left.  Bethune-Cookman was able to hold off NCCU and ended up taking a 26-25 lead into the locker room.  The second half was back-and-forth over the first four minutes, and that is when the Eagles threw its biggest haymaker of the night.  With the score tied at 34, NCCU went on a 15-0 run to put the Wildcats against the ropes grasping a 49-34 lead with 12:18 left, the largest lead of the night for the Eagles.  Bethune-Cookman would not be denied, continuing to fight back even cutting the deficit to single digits on a number of occasions, but the Eagles had an answer all night.  The biggest reply came with 2:47 to go, when the Wildcats cut the margin to six and seemed to have NCCU on its heels, but Chapman’s huge three from the right side pushed the advantage back up to nine at 65-56, seemingly ending all hope for B-CU as the Eagles held on for the 69-64 victory.  With the win, NCCU (8-8, 2-1 MEAC) earns their first victory over Bethune-Cookman who had won each of the three previous matchups.  The Eagles outrebounded the Wildcats 35-26 as Dominique Sutton (Durham, N.C.) recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  Junior Ebuka Anyaorah (Suwanee, Ga.) gave NCCU a jolt in the second half with 13 second-half points to aid in the win.  Along with Willis’s fourth 20-plus point effort he ended up with seven rebounds, four assists, and a career-high five steals.  Bethune-Cookman (5-12, 2-1 MEAC) lost is first MEAC road contest in 11 tries, and recorded its first conference loss since Feb. 7, 2011 against Morgan State.  Garrius Holloman led the Wildcats with 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting.  After the hot start from the outside for B-CU, the Wildcats went 1-for-15 the rest of the way to finish 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from three-point land.