Daytona Beach, Fla. - John Holmes came off the bench to score a game-high 19 points and CJ Reed added 18 as Bethune-Cookman took advantage of a slow start and costly turnovers to pull away to a 73-56 win over Howard in a MEAC game at Moore Gymnasium.

Howard (1-14 overall, 0-3 in the MEAC) played close early and trailed 16-13 on a Curtis White three-point basket.  Then the Wildcats (8-8 overall, 2-1 in the MEAC) finished the half with a 22-10 run that gave them a 38-23 advantage at intermission.

Reed did most of the damage with 11 points, with nine coming from beyond the arc.  Howard aided and abetted the Wildcats’ cause by committing 14 turnovers that Bethune-Cookman converted into 19 points.

The Bison were able to claw back in the game on the scoring of Randy Hampton, Eugene Myatt and CJ Prince, who combined for 20 of their team’s 35 points in the final 20 minutes.  But each time Howard would get within striking distance or a workable margin, the Wildcats would answer, mostly on the scoring of Holmes who tallied 11 points in the second half.

Howard  could have helped itself from the free throw line, but the Bison missed 17 of 31 attempts from the charity stripe.

Myatt finished with 12 and Hampton with 11.  Prince, who was playing in just his second game as a Bison, got all 12 of his points from the three-point line.

GAME NOTES:  The Bison played their second straight game without freshman point guards Chris McHenry and Calvin Thompson and sophomore forward Adam Walker, who are sitting out academic issues...this was Howard’s eighth game on the road in three weeks that included stops in Corvallis, Oregon, Portland, Oregon, Logan, Utah, Philadelphia, PA, Tallahassee, Fl and finally Daytona Beach.

NEXT UP: Howard hosts Winston-Salem State on Saturday at 4 pm in Burr...the Bison will then take on South Carolina State on Monday, January 19 at 7 pm...the game will be broadcast live on ESPNU as part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day special.