Boxscore

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. - CJ Reed scored a game-high 12 points and Jarrell Thomas added 10 off the bench including the last four points of the game as Bethune-Cookman (14-13 overall, 7-7 in the MEAC) held off Howard, 50-44 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's game at the Ocean Center.

Reed provided most of the offensive punch for the Wildcats early as he tallied 10 of his team's points en route to a 29-17 halftime advantage.  Thomas chipped in with six first half points.

The Bison (7-21 overall, 6-8 in the MEAC) had problems scoring as freshman forward Mike Phillips was the only player to get anything going with seven points off the bench.

Howard was able to mount a comeback in the second half, courtesy of some tough defense by Kyle Riley, who limited Reed to only one field goal and forced him into a 1 for 10 shooting performance in the final stanza.  Riley was also a key factor on the offensive end with nine of his 11 points after intermission during the comeback.

The Bison got the margin down to 48-44 with 2:12 remaining but Thomas put the game away with a field goal and two free throws to close out the scoring.

Reed added eight rebounds and four assists to his stat line while Thomas added eight rebounds.

Howard got 11 from Riley and 10 from Phillips in a reserve capacity.  Adam Walker grabbed a game-high nine rebounds in a losing effort.

The Bison aided the Wildcat cause by missing 16 of 27 free throw attempts.

NEXT UP:  The Bison host Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday at 4 pm while the Wildcats travel to Orangeburg, SC to take on the Bulldogs of South Carolina State at 4 pm.