Jan. 22, 2007

Final Stats

Princess Anne, Md. - The William P. Hytche Center went stone quiet on Monday evening as Jimmy Hudson's three-pointer at the buzzer hit nothing but nylon to allow Bethune-Cookman College to escape with a 59-57 victory over the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Md. The victory was the second Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference [MEAC] win for the `Cats this season.

Bethune-Cookman College trailed by three points when Jordan Carrier drove the lane for a lay-up that cut the lead to 57-56 with 11 seconds left in the game. B-CC (4-13, 2-6 MEAC) immediately fouled one of the Hawks' better free throw shooters in Jesse Brooks.

Brooks toed the line shooting 4-for-5 on the night from the charity stripe, but missed the ensuing foul shot. B-CC's Ron Mitchell collected the rebound, and gave the pass to Damitrius Coleman to run the offense for the Cliff Reed coached Wildcats.

Coleman crossed mid-court with exactly eight seconds remaining on the clock, turned off a pick set by Mitchell and located Jimmy Hudson who was already set up in the right corner ... in front of an already standing B-CC bench.

Hudson's three-point shot left his hand and splashed nothing but the bottom of the net as the clock hit 00:00 and the red light and horn went off signaling the end of the contest.

"I had been missing my shots all night, and I really wanted to make up for the one I missed at Howard the other day," exclaimed Hudson. Hudson's three-point basket at Howard would have sent the game into overtime, but rimmed out at the buzzer.

UMES (3-16, 0-7 MEAC) was deflated after leading by as many as 11 points (55-44) with 6:47 left in the contest. It was also the second time in as many years that a Wildcat player has hit a shot at the buzzer to defeat UMES in Princess Anne. Former all-everything guard Antonio Webb nailed a jumper from the left elbow last year to life the `Cats, 69-66.

"It was the most painful loss I've ever had," exclaimed UMES head coach Larry Lessett.

With the `Cats trailing 55-44, B-CC went on a 15-2 run to end the game. Aaron Nelson started things off with a lay-up and free throw, followed by two foul shots from Mitchell. Nelson collected a career-high 22 points on the night with an 8-for-18 shooting touch from the floor, as well as a 6-of-8 stroke at the foul line.

Nelson banked two more lay-ups with his brutalizing size and a free throw down the stretch before Carrier's lay-up sliced the Hawks lead to two.

"It was a big win for us, and maybe this time we are going to turn the corner," stated B-CC head coach Clifford Reed, Jr. "We have lost so many games at the buzzer, that I thought this can't be happening again and we have to be due for one. This time, fortunately, it went our way."

The Hawks, who led the last 22 minutes of the game before Hudson's three-point basket, were paced on the night in scoring by Corey Brown with 17 points. Brown was named as the MEAC Player of the Week earlier in the day. Also in double-figures scoring was Antonio McMillion with 15 points and eight rebounds.

B-CC's Nelson led all scorers, however, with a game-high 22 points and seven rebounds. While no other Wildcat touched double-digits, Josh Cummings had nine points. Hudson and John Anderson each had eight points, respectively.

"It was about time that Aaron [Nelson] came around for us," exclaimed Reed. "He has all the size to be good in this league, and tonight was the perfect time to enforce that. I was very impressed about his performance tonight."

Bethune-Cookman College will take a slight break from conference play next Saturday, Jan. 27, when they host Winston-Salem State University to Moore Gymnasium in a contest slated for a 4 p.m. tip-off in Daytona Beach, Fla.