DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Interstat) — Jakobi Heady scored 30 points and Bethune-Cookman used a decisive second-half surge to pull away from Prairie View A&M for an 82-76 victory in a Southwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball game Saturday at Moore Gymnasium.

In a contest that was tied 36-36 at halftime, the Wildcats outscored the Panthers 46-40 after intermission, leveraging their size and efficiency at the free-throw line to secure the win before an announced crowd of 816.

Heady, a 6-foot-6 junior from Chicago, was the catalyst, adding two assists, a block and a steal in 39 minutes of action. His performance anchored a Bethune-Cookman offense that, despite struggling from beyond the arc, dominated the interior. The Wildcats outscored Prairie View 50-36 in the paint and attempted 34 free throws, making 24. Prairie View was 19 of 26 from the line.

The game’s pivotal sequence came midway through the second half with Bethune-Cookman holding a narrow 49-47 lead. Over the next four minutes, the Wildcats engineered a 12-2 run to establish their first double-digit advantage. The spurt was fueled by interior play, including a tip-in by Daniel Rouzan and a driving layup from Quentin Heady, Jakobi’s brother. Quentin Heady finished with 17 points.

Prairie View, which shot a frigid 3 for 21 from three-point range, could not mount a sustained response. The Panthers closed the gap to 72-70 after a Dontae Horne pull-up jumper with just over four minutes remaining, but Bethune-Cookman answered immediately. On the ensuing possession, Ariel Bland stole a pass and found Jakobi Heady for a driving layup. After a Prairie View turnover, Heady assisted on a Quentin Heady dunk to push the lead back to six points with 3:15 to play, effectively sealing the outcome.

Lance Williams led Prairie View with 22 points. Dontae Horne added 15 points and Cory Wells scored 10 for the Panthers, who fell to 9-14 overall. The Panthers won the turnover battle 12-7 and generated 12 points off those miscues, but were ultimately undone by poor perimeter shooting and a 38.6% performance from the field.

Bethune-Cookman (12-11) also won the rebounding battle, collecting 17 offensive boards that led to 19 second-chance points. Arterio Morris contributed nine points and three assists for the Wildcats, while Bland had six points, two assists and two blocks.

The victory extends Bethune-Cookman’s winning streak to four games as they continue their climb in the SWAC standings. The loss snaps a two-game winning streak for Prairie View.

Both teams return to conference play Monday. Prairie View travels to face Florida A&M, while Bethune-Cookman hosts Texas Southern.