DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Savannah State University kept fighting to stay close with Bethune-Cookman on Saturday. But the Wildcats continually came up with ways to shake loose.

The visiting Tigers (0-4, 0-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) dropped their fourth straight game this season, falling to B-CU 24-12 at Municipal Stadium.

"We're not playing well enough to win football games," SSU coach Erik Raeburn said. "We're making too many mistakes."

The Tigers were shorthanded without injured starters quarterback TJ Bell and leading running back Uriah Oliver.

Rashad Saxton replaced Oliver and ran for 103 yards and a touchdown.

Saxton's score allowed the Tigers to creep within five -- 17-12 midway through the fourth quarter -- and thoughts of a second straight win against the Wildcats began to appear.

Last season, SSU gave Raeburn his first coaching victory with the Tigers by tripping B-CU 16-10 in overtime.

But this time, Bethune jumped out to a 7-0 lead on its first possession.

The Wildcats (2-3, 1-1 MEAC), led by the two-quarterback system of Larry Brihm and Akevious Williams, finished with 390 offensive yards, compared to the Tigers' 163.

Brihm ran for a 10-yard score on the first possession. Williams ran for 95 yards and had a 6-yard touchdown pass to Que'shaun Byrd late in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

"We have to learn to come out on our toes," Saxton said. "We came out on our heels."

A Uriel Hernandez 32-yard field goal gave B-CU a 10-0 advantage less than five minutes into the second quarter.

SSU responded with a safety, set up by Candler Williams' punt which was downed at the Wildcats 2-yard line.

On the next play, linebacker Tyqueze Johnson tackled Tupac Isme in the end zone for a safety to make it 10-2.

SSU's defense continued to slow down Bethune and a 35-yard punt return by JaMichael Baldwin in the third quarter set up the Tigers at the B-CU 13, leading to Giovanni Lugo's 29-yard field goal and it was 10-5.

"I think we did a solid job," said SSU safety Donald Rutledge, who recorded a team-high nine tackles and broke up two passes. "We have to realize if the offense goes three and out, we have to go out and be tough."

The Tigers wore down in the second half and big run by the Wildcats broke open the game.

Just 83 seconds after Lugo's field goal, Jamaruz Thompkins broke several tackles en route to a 69-yard TD run to make it 17-5.

And when Saxton's scoring run pulled the Tigers to a tantalizing 17-12, Bethune and Williams answered on the next drive.

"It's frustrating when you think you match up well and you've been executing all week (in practice) and then don't get the job done," Rutledge said.

Thompkins finished with a game-high 126 rushing yards.

Defensively for SSU, lineman Brandon Carswell had eight tackles, including 2.5 tackles for losses.

Williams had a big day punting, booting all four of his kicks inside the 20 and three inside the 10.

The Tigers return to T.A. Wright Stadium next Saturday for a homecoming game against Hampton University. Game time is 2 p.m.