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Jan. 6, 2007
Daytona Beach, Fla. - Rashad West hit two free throws with five seconds remaining in the contest to put away a tight contest and give Hampton University a hard fought 59-55 victory over Bethune-Cookman College on the road inside Moore Gymnasium in Daytona Beach, Florida. With the `Cats down two (55-53) with 54 seconds left on the clock, B-CC's (2-10, 0-3 MEAC) Josh Cummings hit back-to-back free throws to notch the score at 55. Hampton's (4-9, 1-2 MEAC) Rashad West immediately came down court, set up the offense and missed a running three-point attempt. But the answer for the entire game, and the last seconds of the contest, was in the form of Matthew Pligrim. Pilgrim brought down the rebound from West, and threw it back on a put back dunk with authority for the go-ahead basket at 57-55. On the next possession, the `Cats Dewayne Pettus was slapped with an offensive foul as he drove the lane for the possible tying basket. That's when West iced the game away with two free throws with five seconds left to put the game away for the Pirates, ending a two-game conference losing streak this year. However, the Wildcats are still in the middle of one of their worst streaks in years--a nine-game losing skid dating back to Dec. 2 against Florida A&M. The `Cats have also lost four straight games in the league dating back to last season. Trailing by one (28-27) at the half, the Wildcats came out and took a five point advantage (35-30) in the first six minutes of the second half. Kevan Creppy's layup with 5:15 left in the game put the `Cats up by three (49-46). Another dunk by Pilgrim and a jumper by West put the Pirates up by one (50-49). The game went back-and-forth until the end when Pilgrim's dunk was the turning point in the game. "We have to start making plays down the stretch, and learning how to finish games," stated B-CC head coach Clifford Reed, Jr. "It's getting frustrating having to take positives from a negative in the form of a loss. It's frustrating, but we have to learn how to win, even though we are getting better."
Hampton was led on the night by Adrian Woodard as he connected on 6-of-9 shots from the field for 14 points. Pilgrim, however, was the leading scorer on the night with 15 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Bethune-Cookman was led by Pettus with 17 points, while Ron Mitchell pitched in a career-high 14 points, as well as a career-high tying nine rebounds. The Wildcats will once again have a chance to break their losing skid when they host Norfolk State on Monday night at 7:30 inside Moore Gymnasium. |
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