Julian Conyers sank one of two free throws with four seconds left in overtime to lift Coppin State to a 75-74 come-from-behind win over Hampton in the quarterfinal round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men’s tournament at the RBC Center. The win was the first big upset in the tournament as the Eagles (14-20), the Number 7 seed knocked off the Pirates (18-12), the Number 2 seed. Coppin State advances to Friday’s semifinal round.

After Hampton’s Rashad West canned a 3-pointer in regulation to tie the game and send it into an extra period, both teams appeared tight through the first three minutes of overtime. Then Conyers broke the ice with a stickback to give Coppin State the lead at 73-71 with 1:20 on the clock.

Then the Pirates answered when Adrian Woodard nailed a three-point basket 22 seconds later to give his team a 74-73 lead. Coppin State’s Antwan Harrsion then followed with one of two free throws to tie the game at 74 with 31 ticks on the clock.

Hampton then set up the potential game winning shot with West, who finished with a game-high 27 points, but the standout senior guard turned it over and was forced to foul Conyers with just four ticks left on the clock. Conyers made the first but missed the second. The Pirates never got a chance to get off a shot as Coppin pulled off the upset.

The comeback appeared highly improbable when the Pirates took control of the game in the first half and went to the locker room with a seemingly comfortable 39-24 lead.

A second team All-MEAC selection, West put on a three-point shooting exhibition, connecting 5 of 8 from beyond the stripe, as he led all scorers with 19. The Pirates’ defense held the Eagles in check and held them to 30 percent shooting from the field.

“All three of our key people (Tywain McKee, Antwan Harrsion and A’Daeron Duncan) were in foul trouble and, as a result we struggled,” explained Coppin State head coach Ron “Fang” Mitchell. “We were just trying to hold on until the second half because we knew we would have them back in the second half. And the plan was to put the ball in their hands.”

The plan worked. With McKee, Harrison and Duncan taking turns scoring, the Eagles put together a 32-16 run over the first 11 minutes of the second half to take their first lead of the game at 56-55 at the 9:16 mark. After a dismal first half shooting performance, Coppin State had a complete turnaround, shooting 65 percent from the field in the second half.

“We had to step up and play harder with a sense of urgency,” said Harrison. “Once we got the momentum, I looked up and saw that we were right back in the game. From there, we became more determined and confident.”

From there, the two teams went back and forth, exchanging leads and tying the game on several occasions. Both teams had chances to end the drama in regulation. Two free throws by Conyers with 1:18 left in regulation gave the Eagles a three-point lead at 71-68. Then West hit one of his long bombs to tie the score at 71 with 1:08 on the clock.

Both teams had a chance to end it, but it resulted in turnovers, thus sending the game into the extra period.

McKee scored all 16 of his points in the second half, Harrison tallied nine of his points in the second half and OT and Duncan got all 15 of his points in the final 25 minutes including the extra stanza. Conyers contributed 12 to lead a balanced attack.

Hampton was led by West, Theo Smalling with nine and Adrian Woodard, Vincent Simpson and Brandon Tunnell with eight each.