East Volusia News

Harmon scores 22 for Wildcats in the loss

Despite a 22-point scoring output from Zion Harmon on Monday evening, Bethune-Cookman was thwarted in its efforts to upset Alcorn by a score of 76-68 in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Men's Basketball action inside the Davey L. Whitney Complex.

Dontrell McQuarter finished as one of four players in double-figures scoring for Alcorn (9-10, 6-1 SWAC) on the night, charging the Braves with 20 points.

Bethune-Cookman (6-14, 2-5 SWAC), under the direction of second-year head coach Reggie Theus, carried a 29-26 lead into the locker room at the half.

The visiting Wildcats connected on 41 percent shooting from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including a 57 percent effort from three-point range. In reverse of that, the Braves were limited to just 1-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc during the opening half.

BCU grabbed a 7-6 lead following a driving layup from Zion Harmon who led the Wildcats with a game-high 22 points. The Wildcats would not relinquish the lead for the remaining 17:25 of the opening half.

BCU led 20-10 midway through the half after Dhashon Dyson and Marcus Garrett combined for all nine of the Wildcats' points in a 9-0 run by the visitors. Alcorn countered with a late flurry and a 9-1 run of its own as Dontrell McQuarter poured in six points to cut into the deficit at 22-21 with 4:21 showing on the clock.

McQuarter scored 10 points for the hosts in the first half, while no other player added more than four (4) points for the Braves, with those coming by way of Jeremiah Kendall's two shots from the field.

For BCU, Garrett scored 10 points for his side, while the combination of Harmon and Kevin Davis linked up for 14 points in a joint effort.

In the second half, Alcorn shot a blistering 60 percent from the floor, as the Braves connected on 18-of-30 shots. The Braves also added 12 points on 13 free throw attempts.

The hosts raced out of the locker room to a 9-0 run courtesy baskets coming from McQuarter and Byron Joshua – and capped off with a three-pointer from the wing by Oddyst Walker stemming from a BCU turnover.

Alcorn led 35-29 just over three minutes into the second half.

Several times the Braves would seemingly go on a run to put away Bethune-Cookman, but the visitors would get timely buckets from Joe French or Davis to bring their side to within one on numerous occasions.

It was not until 11:56 remaining in the contest that BCU regained its original halftime lead, as Garrett hit on a pair of shots from the charity stripe to put the Wildcats up 42-41.

However, Dominic Brewton would get going for Alcorn and deliver four points off the bench, added free throws from Trevin Wade, allowing the Braves to step back out in front at 48-42 just two minutes later.

Despite several attempts to chip into the lead down the stretch, BCU would see its deficit grow to double-figures at 68-58 when McQuarter scored four points in quick succession and the clock reading 1:18 remaining.

Altogether, Bethune-Cookman shot 11-for-17 from the foul line, as the Braves committed 20 fouls on the night. The Wildcats shot above the 40 percent mark from the floor in both halves, as well as hitting on 50 percent from long range for the game.

The Wildcats used the 22-point effort from Harmon, as he also added a team-high tying four assists to his credit. For Harmon, it was his third game of the season in which he scored 20 or more points. He was followed in scoring by Garrett with 17 points, four assists and three rebounds. Davis rounded out the players in double-figures for the Wildcats, turning in 13 points and 14 rebounds for his third double-double of the campaign.

Alcorn shot just 21.4 percent from long range on the night, but the Braves used 14 second chance points, as well as 25 points off the bench to earn the win and remain tied atop the SWAC standings with Southern University. The Braves also outscored Bethune-Cookman by a commanding 46-20 advantage in the paint.

McQuarter led the Braves with a season-best 20 points, while Jeremiah Kendall added 12 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double performance of the year (his second in the last three games). Brewton poured in 11 points to run his string of double-digit scoring efforts to six games consecutively. And it was Joshua finishing with 10 points and a season-high eight assists.

Bethune-Cookman returns to action Saturday, Jan. 28, when the Wildcats welcome Alabama State to Daytona Beach at 4 p.m. ET.

Alcorn travels to Southern on Saturday, Jan. 28, with sole possession of first place in the league standings on the line when the two teams meet in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at 5:30 p.m. CT. 

Original source can be found here.