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WINSTON-SALEM — There’s one thing missing from this week’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament in Winston-Salem: the local school.

That’s because financial troubles led Winston-Salem State to end its attempt to join Division I before it ever became a full-fledged member.

Athletic director Bill Hayes says “you don’t miss what you never had.”

So while the MEAC is gathering at the Joel Coliseum to play for a prized spot in the NCAA tournament, Winston-Salem State has reversed course.

It’s headed back to its former Division II home — the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association — after the Rams realized they no longer could afford to compete with the big boys of college sports. The Rams’ return to the CIAA is effective in the upcoming academic year.

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BETHUNE-COOKMAN 64, FLORIDA A&M 53: C.J. Reed had 23 points and five assists and Bethune-Cookman defeated Florida A&M 64-53 on Tuesday night in the first round of the MEAC Tournament.

The seventh-seeded Wildcats (17-15) not only avenged a 69-64 loss to the Rattlers on March 4, they also secured their second straight winning season — their only two in Division I play. Bethune-Cookman also won the teams' first meeting 58-57 on Dec. 5.

Stanley Elliott added 12 points and eight rebounds for Bethune-Cookman. The Wildcats, who scored 18 points off 17 turnovers, will take on No. 2 seed Delaware State on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats led 33-23 at halftime and the 10th-seeded Rattlers could get no closer than five in the second half.

Brandon Bryant led Florida A&M (9-22) with 11 points. The Rattlers outshot the Wildcats 39.6 percent (19-for-48) to 37.7 percent (23-for-61).

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MARYLAND-EASTERN SHORE 52, DELAWARE STATE 45: Casey Morton scored 19 points, including 13 in the second half to lead all players, while April McBride added 15 for the Lady Hawks.

Cortney Crockett was the only Delaware State player in double figures with 13.

Delaware State trailed 14-10 before rallying in the first half. The Lady Hornets outscored the Hawks 14-7 over the last 6:44 of the half to take a 24-21 lead at the break.

Delaware State opened up a 30-26 lead with a lay up by Brittany Washington with 13:44 left to play.

The Lady Hawks responded with a 14-2 run, and opened up a 40-32 advantage on steal and basket by Bria Jackson with 7:22 remaining. The Lady Hornets missed six of seven shots, and committed five turnovers during the UMES spurt.

Delaware State scored the next five points to pull to within 40-37, but the Lady Hawks responded with an 8-2 run, and took a 48-39 lead on a 3-point play by McBride with 1:59 left in the game.

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 54, COPPIN STATE 49: Transfer Whitney Wiley had 17 points, including a crucial 3-pointer with 19.3 seconds left, and Tiara Knotts came off the bench for 13 points to lead eighth-seeded South Carolina State.

Coach Doug Robertson’s team, which led 22-18 at the half, moved out to a 13 point 38-25 lead with 8:32 left when Knotts made one of two free throws and appeared headed to a comfortable victory.

Coppin State, however, hWiley gave SC State a 50-47 advantage on the Lady Bulldogs’ trip down court, but Jeanine Manley, who led the Lady Eagles with 17 points, answered quickly, bringing Coppin to within 50-49 with 32 ticks left.

It was Wiley, again, pulling the trigger for SC State when she made a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner to give the Lady Bulldogs a four-point 53-49 edge with just under 20 seconds left. Then came a big play by Knotts, the smallest player on the court, when she took a charge from Coppin’s Manley, nullifying a basket that would have sliced the margin to two with 10 seconds remaining.

South Carolina State faces top seed N.C. A&T at 12:30 p.m. today.

BETHUNE-COOKMAN 76, NORFOLK STATE 66: Sarah Bolden scored a game-high 21 points off the bench, while teammate Jalisa Isaac added 17 points for Bethune-Cookman.

The game was a close one from beginning to end. B-CU (16-14) scored the first four points of the game on a layup and two free throws by Jasmine Daniels.

Norfolk State (4-23) took a one-point lead, 9-8, on a basket by Batavia Owens with 16:19 left in the first half. The Spartans increased their lead to five, 15-10, after a layup by Raychele Payne at the 14:58 mark.

A pair of free throws by Demetria Frank with 2:58 left in the opening period put B-CU up by two, 35-33, and the Lady Wildcats outscored the Spartans 7-0 the rest of the way to take a 42-33 lead into halftime.

The Spartans went on a 7-0 run to start the second half to get within two, 42-40, after a layup by Whitney Long with 16:01 left in the game. But back-to-back 3-pointers by the Lady Wildcats opened up a seven-point lead.

The closest Norfolk Statecould get after that was four, 62-58, after a jumper by Genor Dalton with 4:35 left. B-CU led by 12 in the final moments, but Marian Brooks scored a layup with nine seconds left to cut the final deficit to 10.

For B-CU, Daniels had 14 points, a game-high eight assists and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Demetria Frank also scored in double figures with 10 points.

Payne and Brooks each had 16 points for Norfolk State..