Delaware State

The game was a microcosm of Morgan State's struggles this season: Almost. Just missed. Not quite. Delaware State, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's second-place team, appeared ripe to be upset last night at Hill Field House, but the Bears couldn't quite pull it off. Two attempts to force overtime with tip-ins rimmed out just before the buzzer, and Morgan lost a 54-52 decision to a team breaking down all kinds of barriers in 2002. It was a frustrating ending for the Bears, who rallied from a 12-point deficit and succeeded in holding the three-point-minded Hornets to three second-half field goals after the first minute of the period.

Brian Parker's 26 points led four players in double figures as Delaware State defeated Morgan State, 83-73, yesterday in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game in Dover, Del.Reggie Stevens chipped in 15 points for the Hornets (7-13, 5-7), while Terence Hood had 14 and Steve Little added 10. Tremaine Byrd led Morgan State (7-14, 7-6) with 22 points.The Bears led 40-31 at halftime, but Delaware State rallied by shooting a blistering 67 percent (18-for-27) from the field in outscoring Morgan by 19 in the second half.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Morgan State had one game to play, but not the legs to play it effectively. Bidding for its first berth in the NCAA women's tournament, fourth-seeded Morgan had that mission denied yesterday in a 55-42 loss to second-seed Delaware State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship game at the RBC Center. Playing in their fifth game in 10 days and one day removed from the program's biggest upset, the Bears lost, and it was simple to understand. "We did all we could.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Boubacar Coly, Morgan State's 6-foot-9 enforcer who almost never uses his feet to get to the basket, roared down the lane last night for a thunderous dunk that restored order in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament and much-needed energy to the struggling Bears. Coly's unlikely improvisation gave No. 1-seeded Morgan its first lead of the night with 11 minutes left in the second half of a semifinal matchup with Delaware State. More important, it ignited a furious stretch run that carried the Bears to a 61-55 victory and into their first MEAC championship game in 30 years.

Morgan State survived a major test last night ... barely. In a position game for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament, the Bears knocked Delaware State out of second place, 75-74, despite some scary moments down the stretch, winning for the ninth time in 10 games at Hill Field House this season. Two free throws by Sam Brand (Poly) with 10.1 seconds remaining proved the decisive points for Morgan (11-13, 9-5), which then had to fend off a final Hornets' thrust abetted by a questionable foul call.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Todd Bozeman's reclamation project at Morgan State was less than two minutes from reaching another day at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament yesterday. But with 1.1 seconds left in overtime, Bozeman quickly grabbed for his dry-erase board where, instead of drawing up a final play, he'll settle for drawing plans for next season. Bozeman, in his first season at Morgan State after his eight-year ban from college coaching, will do that so-called planning with the knowledge his fifth-seeded Bears nearly handed Delaware State (21-11)

Kevin Thompson (Walbrook) finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Morgan State men's basketball team as the Bears beat UMES, 65-61, Monday, in Princess Anne. Thompson shot 7-for-11 from the field for the Bears (21-9, 12-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference), who clinched their third straight regular-season conference title. Ameer Ali chipped in with 10 points. The game was tied at 56 with 1:27 left, but the Hawks were outscored 9-5 the rest of the way as they shot 1-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final minute.

RALEIGH, N. C. -- The UMES women couldn't make it an all-Maryland final in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament yesterday. Second-seeded Delaware State took the initiative at the start of the second half at the RBC Center and denied the Lady Hawks their first appearance in the championship game with a 66-53 victory, its sixth in a row. The Lady Hornets (21-8) will face top-seeded Coppin State today for the title. "Second-chance points did it," UMES coach Fred Batchelor said.

DOVER, Del. - Morgan State reached the .500 level for the first time since early September and ruined the head coaching debut of Delaware State's Butch Posey with a wild 53-36 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory at Alumni Stadium yesterday. By scoring touchdowns every time the offense touched the ball in the second half, the Bears pulled away from the winless but pesky Hornets, who were celebrating homecoming. The catalyst for the offensive outburst actually came from the Morgan defense on the final play before intermission.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Coppin State women are beginning to resemble a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference dynasty. They punched their ticket to the NCAA Division I tournament for the second straight year yesterday, fending off second-seeded Delaware State, 46-36, to win the MEAC championship at the RBC Center. The Lady Eagles stretched their streak of wins against conference opponents to 29, including 21 this season. They are the first MEAC team since Howard in 1996-97 to go undefeated in the league.