Byron Selby led the Bears by accounting for four touchdowns.
Boxscore
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Bethune-Cookman quarterback Jimmie Russell rushed for 101 yards in nine carries and three touchdowns and threw for another in just over a quarter as the Wildcats (4-1, 2-0) celebrated a happy Homecoming with a 44-26 rout of the Bears (1-4, 0-1).
Russell played one series in the third quarter and finished with a game-best 128 yards rushig in 13 carries and four touchdowns while MSU held him to 3-of-11 passing for 83 yards and a score.
Russell scored on runs of 19, 9, 20 yards as B-CC scored on five straight possessions in the first quarter to take a 30-0 lead. It was the most points given up in a quarter during head coach Donald Hill-Eley's tenure.
"I was very disappointed with the first quarter," said Hill. "I know you can't take away the first quarter, but if you could, it would have been a pretty good ballgame after that."
The Wildcats puched the lead to 37-0 as Russell threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Summers on the second play of the second quarter.
A week after the B-CC defense was shredded for 659 total yards in a 63-61 four overtime win against Norfolk State, Morgan State didn't have a first down until the second quarter and had less than 100 total yards at half.
MSU tried to make it interesting by scoring twice in the second quarter to trail 37-12 at the intermission. Byron Selby connected with All-MEAC wideout Kelvin Dickens for a 12-yard touchdown, then, after a Wildcats turnover, Selby put the Bears back on the scoreboard with a 3-yard TD run.
Selby finished the game by completing 20-of-46 passes for 223 yards, but added two interceptions. The redshirt sophomore added a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns following a 19-yard strike to Jai Wilson and a 5-yard run.
Wilson led the Bears receiving corps with five catches for 65 yards, while Dickens finished with five for 59 yards, and All-MEAC tight end Chris Cash collected four receptions for 37 yards.
The Bears had trouble getting their running game going throughout most of the contest. Running backs Craig Nelson and Jason Jackson were held to 19 and 13 yards respectively. Selby ended up leading MSU's ground attack with 73 yards on 16 carries.
MSU's offense bounced back from a stagnant first half and completed the game with 329 total yards.
"I thought we showed a lot of character the way we hung in there," said Hill. "We could have stayed down and continued to get embarrassed, or we could have kept fighting. I thought we ket fighting."
"You hate to be on the losing end of anything,but at the end, i saw a group of guys starting to come together as a team. These kids aren't quitters. We made a game out of it in the end."
Morgan State will attempt to regroup when they face North Carolina A&T this Saturday at the Prince George's Classic at FedEx Field. Kick-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
