Bears avoid Upset, Capture 3rd Straight MEAC Regular Season Title
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - Kevin Thompson had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Ameer Ali added 10 points to help the Bears pull out a come-from-behind 65-61 victory over MD-Eastern Shore on Monday night.
Reggie Holmes, one of the leading scorers in the nation, was held well below his average of 22 point per game, however he hit critical free throws in the final seconds to help the Bears clinch their third consecutive regular season Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship.
The Bears, who improved to 21-9 overall and 12-1 in the conference, got a lot of help down the stretch as the Hawks wasted away opportunities from the free throw line.
With the score knotted 56-56 with 1:27 remaining on the clock, the Hawks went 1-for-5 from the stripe. Meanwhile the Bears went 4-for- 7 from the stripe, including three by Holmes, which turned out to be the difference in the ballgame.
Tim Burns finished with a game-high 23 points (7-10 FG) for Maryland Eastern Shore (9-19, 7-7 MEAC), which has not beaten Morgan State in four seasons. Kevin White added 16 points with seven assists and Neal Pitt recorded 11 points with 14 points off of the bench for the Hawks.
The Hawks led 34-27 at halftime, but they were facing the best team in the league and the second half proved to be the difference.
The Bears trailed by as many as 11 in the first half, but the Bears regained the lead on back-to-back 3-point plays by Kevin Thompson, followed by Troy Smith to give the Bears a 43-41 (10:30) advantage and its first lead since scoring the opening basket of the contest.
Read the complete story at MorganStateBears.com.
Read more at UMESHawks.com.
Deloach Sizzles on Senior Night as Spartans Win 4th Straight
NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk State guard Michael Deloach made it a Senior Night to remember, scoring 31 points in his final home game as a Spartan to lead NSU to its fourth straight win, 82-62, over South Carolina State on Monday night at Echols Hall.
Deloach was 12-of-17 from the floor, 3-of-6 from behind the arc, and added five steals, four assists and three boards for NSU (9-17, 7-6 MEAC), which has won three straight games by at least 20 points for the first time since 1993-94. Center Joseph Dorsett-Jeffreys (Bronx, N.Y.) also shined in his final home game at NSU, scoring 12 points to go with six rebounds. Rob Hampton scored 19 points (15 in the second half) and Tim Zephyr added 11.
Deloach nearly matched the Bulldogs' output in the first half, scoring 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting to help NSU to a 36-22 halftime lead. Deloach hit all three of his first-half treys in span of a little more than seven minutes as NSU's bulge reached as much as 19 in the opening stanza. NSU forced 16 of SCSU's 22 turnovers in the first half, which led to 23 Spartan points.
SCSU (14-12, 8-6) got as close as nine points in the second half. Arsenio Williams' putback with 7:02 left cut the Spartans' lead to 57-48. But NSU answered with the next six points to put the game out of reach. Hampton hit a jumper, then fed Deloach for a fast-break layup. Deloach then had one of his many highlight-reel plays. He stole the ball from Tyvon Williams on the right wing, dribbled the length of the floor, bounced the ball off the floor to himself and slammed it home for a 63-48 Spartans' lead.
Read the complete story at NSUSpartans.com.
Read more at SCSUAthletics.com.
Pirates Crash Boards in Win over FAMU
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Hampton men's basketball team crashed the boards early and often on Monday night en route to its second straight win, a 70-61 decision against Florida A&M at the Lawson Center.
The Pirates (10-17, 6-8 MEAC) out-rebounded Florida A&M 40-25.
There were four ties and four lead changes in the second half, but the Pirates took the lead for good with 9:54 left to play, when Vincent Simpson hit a 3-pointer to put Hampton up 51-48. The Pirates would lead by as many as 11, going up 67-56 with 1:03 to play after Mike Tuitt hit a free throw.
Amin Stevens hit a 3-pointer with 19 seconds to play to bring the Rattlers to within 68-61, but that was as close as Florida A&M would get.
Simpson led three Pirates in double figures with 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting, while Charles Funches added 13 points. Michael Freeman recorded his 11th double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds.
Stevens scored a team-high 14 points and five rebounds for the Rattlers, while Yannick Crowder added 12 points.
Read the complete story at HamptonPirates.com.
Read more at FAMURattlersports.com.
Oliver Leads DSU past Coppin State
DOVER, Del. - Freshman Marques Oliver scored a career-high 23 points to lead Delaware State to a 59-43 MEAC men's basketball win over Coppin State in Memorial Hall Monday evening.
The Hornets have won four of their last five games to improve to 15-10 overall and 10-4 in the MEAC. The Eagles fell to 7-19 and 2-11. The win assured DSU of at least a second place finish in the final MEAC regular season standings.
Oliver was 10-for-14 from the field and 3-of-4 at the free throw line. He also had led all players with a career-high five blocks. The Durham, N.C. native has 47 points and 10 blocks in the last three games.
Earlier Monday, Oliver was named MEAC Rookie-of-the-Week.
Jay Threatt contributed 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Hornets.
Sam Coleman was high scorer for Coppin State with nine points. Michael Harper led the Eagles with a game-high 10 rebounds.
Read the complete story at DSUHornets.com.
Read more at CoppinStateSports.com.
Total Team Effort Sparks WSSU Comeback Win; Rams Sweep Aggies 79-74
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Thirty years was well worth the wait. The WSSU faithful waited since the 1979-80 season for the Rams to sweep the season series from the Aggies of North Carolina A&T and on Monday evening at the Greensboro Coliseum a WSSU men's basketball team comprised entirely of players who hadn't yet been born the last time WSSU swept N.C. A&T made the wait worthwhile as they erased a double-digit Aggie lead and earned a 79-74 victory.
Much like the season's first meeting between the two teams the Aggies would jump out to an early lead as North Carolina A&T blistered the nets during the first 10 minutes of the game as N.C. A&T hit eight of their first 11 field goal attempts.
The hot shooting helped the Aggies to an early 11-point advantage as the Rams, playing for the first time in the Greensboro Coliseum, found shooting difficult en route to missing seven of their first nine field goals attempts.
Despite playing away from the friendly confines of the C.E. Gaines Center the Rams would not fold as WSSU refused to allow N.C. A&T to pull away as Shelton Carter and Paul Davis combined to score 17 first-half points.
Read the complete story at WSSURams.com.
Read more at NCATAggies.com.
Cage Cats Back On Track, Beat Howard 52-44
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - In a game that featured aggressive, tough defense, blocked shots, 88 total rebounds and only 96 points combined by the two teams, B-CU snapped its four-game losing streak with a hard-nosed 52-46 home MEAC win over Howard University at the Ocean Center.
Sophomore guard C. J. Reed scored 12 points and senior Jarrell Thomas, playing in his final home game for B-CU at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center - contributed 10 points in 28 minutes off the bench.
Both teams were under 35 percent field goal shooting in the contest. BCU was 22-63 (34.9%) and Howard (15-47, 31.9%). In the game, there were 32 offensive boards (19 by B-CU - six by Stanley Elliott). Albert Abrahams led B-CU with nine rebounds.
Read the complete story at BCUAthletics.com.
Read more at Howard-Bison.com.