DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 7, 2017)-The Lady Bear's Tykyrah Williams scored a game-high 17 points and Braennan Farrar added 11 points, but it wasn't enough, as host Bethune-Cookman held off a late Morgan State rally to earn a 50-48 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) victory on Saturday night at Lemerand Center on the campus of Dayton State College.
 
Bethune-Cookman's Kailyn Williams, a 2016-17 MEAC Preseason first team selection and the 2015-16 MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, scored a team-high 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds and recorded a game-high seven blocks to lead the Wildcats. But it would be Williams' seventh and final block of the game with a second remaining, which would be the biggest of the game.
 
Bethune-Cookman's Taylor Houston knocked down two free throws to give the hosts a 45-38 lead with 4:10 remaining in the game. That's when the Lady Bears began to make their comeback.
 
Farrar scored on a layup and Williams followed with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to three points (46-43) with 2:06 left in the game. Zuri White (team-high eight rebounds) then pulled down an offensive rebound and scored on a put back with 46 seconds remaining to make it a 46-45 game and cap off a 7-0 run by the Lady Bears.
 
Kailyn Williams would put an end to Morgan's run, when she scored on a layup and then added the free throw to complete the three-point play and give the Wildcats a 49-45 lead with 22 seconds left in the game.
 
Tykyrah Williams, who was 2-for-6 from three-point range for the game, was a perfect 2-for-2 in the fourth quarter and drained her second trey of the period to bring Morgan State within a point (49-48) with 14 seconds left.
 
After the Wildcats' Angel Golden made just the second of two free throws to up the B-CU lead to 50-48 with 10 seconds left, Morgan State had one final chance. Farrar would go to the basket and have her layup attempt blocked by Kailyn Williams, who also secured the rebound to preserve the win for the Wildcats.
 
The Lady Bears (2-13, 0-2 MEAC) shot 20-of-69 for the game (29 percent) and was 6-for-20 (30 percent) from three-point range. B-CU took just 39 shot attempts for the game and made 18 for 46 percent. The Wildcats went 2-for-7 from the three-point arc for 28 percent.
 
Morgan State's inability to get to the free throw line would hurt the team, as it went to the line just three times, making two for 66 percent. Bethune-Cookman would go to the line 19 times, converting on 12 for 63 percent.
 
The Lady Bears forced 27 turnovers, 13 of which were steals and held a 27-10 advantage over B-CU in points off turnovers. Morgan State also had a 13-7 advantage in second chance points.
 
The Wildcats (6-8, 2-0 MEAC) had a 25-12 advantage over Morgan State in bench points and a 28-16 cushion in points in the paint.
 
Morgan State held its largest lead of the game (six points) at 10-4, after Tykyrah Williams hit a free throw to convert a three-point play with 5:04 left in the opening period. The Lady Bears had a 12-7 lead after one.
 
The Wildcats used a 20-2 run to begin the second quarter and take a 27-14 lead after Golden scored on a layup with 2:25 left in the quarter. Tykyrah Williams, who scored the Lady Bears' first points of the quarter to bring MSU with 15-14 at the 7:15 mark, ended B-CU's run with a jumper at the 1:27 mark to make it a 27-16 contest.
 
The host Wildcats would take a 29-21 lead in the locker room.
 
Morgan State will conclude its Sunshine State tour on Monday, Jan. 9, when it travels to Tallahassee, Fla. to visit Florida A&M. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Al Lawson Center. The Rattlers (2-13, 0-2 MEAC) lost to Coppin State, 70-62 earlier in the day.