DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The offense is there, but even after an 84-76 victory over Houston Baptist Wednesday in historic Moore Gymnasium, Bethune-Cookman would like its defense to be there as well.
Adrien Coleman's 20 points led an incredibly balanced scoring effort - five Wildcats in double figures for the second time this season and one Kevin Dukes basket away from a sixth as B-CU (11-14) managed a split in the non-conference season series with the Huskies (7-16).
But while the Wildcats are putting up the points, they're also giving up the points - an average of 78 a night the past three games. With a key three game Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference road swing upcoming, that's not the kind of defense that's needed in February for a title run.
"Defensively, we're not where we should be," said Coleman. "We've given up a lot of points."
"Giving up 76 on the road will never get the job done on the road. Way too much," said Garrius Holloman. "We need to dig deep and find a way to play 'd.''
On the offensive side, Coleman reached 20 points for the second straight game and double figures for the tenth straight time. He was 7-11 from the field and two rebounds away from a double-double.
"Coach [Gravelle] Craig said just let the game come to me,"Coleman said. "The points don't matter as long as we're winning."
Anthony Breeze had 12 of his 16 points in the first half and was one board away from a double-double. Javoris Bryant continued his strong late-season surge to finish with 14. Holloman had 11, with his three three-pointers helping B-CU pull away from a 42-41 game with 11:40 remaining. Stanley Elliott (10 points) made the most of his opportunities, scoring in transition and offensive rebounds - his tip-in with 11:20 left gave B-CU a 61-51 lead.
Houston Baptist closed to 64-58 on Marcel Smith's 3-pointer with 6:16 left, but Dukes scored the final five points on an 8-0 run to give the Wildcats their biggest lead of the night at 72-58 with 4:46 left. HBU never got closer than seven after that.
The Huskies held the early lead at 13-12, but Coleman's jumper with 12:32 to go in the first half gave the Wildcats the lead for good. The Wildcats led by as many as seven in the first half and took a 37-32 lead at halftime.
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