Men's Basketball Stops Losing Skid with 73-60 Win over UMES :: Wildcats grab first television victory in four years

Feb. 25, 2008

Princess Anne, Md. - Dewayne Pettus poured in a career-high 29 points and John Holmes scored 22 and grabbed 11 rebounds as Bethune-Cookman University topped the University of Maryland Eastern Shore 73-60 Monday night inside the William P. Hytche Athletic Center in Princess Anne, Md.

Pettus was 10-of-18 from the field and hit 9 of 12 from the free throw line, while Holmes 22 came despite playing just nine minutes in the first half because of early foul trouble. He was 8-of-10 from the field and 6-of-7 from the line.

Bethune-Cookman (10-16, 6-6 MEAC), which started the game with just eight players dressed, slowed the pace of the game in the first half and led 28-23 at the break. The Wildcats used a 15-6 run at the start of the second half to get out to a 14-point lead, but the Hawks stuck around cutting the lead to 46-41 with 10:29 remaining.

Bethune-Cookman lost forward Jimmy Hudson in the first half to a knee injury and they finished the game with just seven players.

Ed Tyson led UMES (4-25, 2-12 MEAC) with 18 points on 5-of-22 shooting from the field and 7-of-7 from the line. Gary Lee added 14 points and Brandon Moore had eight rebounds.

The Wildcats ended their three-game losing skid tonight and sweep the season series with the Hawks of UMES. The 'Cats have now won the last seven games against the Hawks dating back to the 2004-05 season.

For Holmes, this is the fifth time he has grabbed a double-double, and the sixth time he has topped 20 points scoring in a game. As for senior guard Pettus, he has now eclipsed the 20-point scoring plateau three times in the last seven games--including a previous career-high 26 points in a win at Winston-Salem State.

B-CU returns home Saturday, Mar. 1 against conference foe South Carolina State in the last home conference game of the year for the Wildcats. S.C. State won the last contest in a 19-point comeback just under a month ago in Orangeburg, S.C.

For ticket information, please call the Bethune-Cookman Ticket Office at (386) 481-2292. Live stats for the event will be available through Game Tracker sponsored by CSTV and the official home for all 17 varsity sports at B-CU--www.BCCathletics.com.