Morgan State University Athletics

Boxscore

Bear Shots

BALTIMORE, Md. -- Coppin State's Akeem Ellis converted two free throws with half a second left to enable the Eagles to escape Hill Field House with the 88-86 win over the Morgan State Bears tonight.
 
It was a battle of runs for both teams early as the Bears got off to a good start going ahead 16-8 on an Ian Chiles lay-up with 13:27 left.
 
One of the few bright spots for the Bears was the rebounding in which MSU outdid Coppin 42-31, which included a 17-8 margin on the offensive end.
 
“We rebounded better than we had in the past," said MSU coach Todd Bozeman. "We came up short. But 19 assists was a plus on our part. There were some positives in it for us. Not that I'm a moral victory guy, because I'm not. But we just got to keep getting better.”
 
MSU (5-15, 3-6 MEAC) held the advantage most of the game until late in the first half when Coppin went on a 15-4 run. Tony Gallo started it with a three-pointer, then Logan Wiens ended it with a jump shot, followed by a three with 7:04 remaining to give the Eagles a 29-27 advantage.
 
But the Bears fought back with a Chiles dunk and a couple of free throws from Kevin Thompson, who led Morgan with 19 points and 15 rebounds, which gave the Bears the 31-29 lead with 4:17 left.
 
Coppin State (13-11, 7-3 MEAC) closed the second half by outscoring the Bears 14-7. The run was led by Tony Gallo, who scored a game high 28 points. Gallo gave the Eagles the momentum when he picked the pocket of Larry Bastfield and converted the lay-up, giving the Eagles a 43-38 advantage with 29 seconds left. A lead that Coppin took into the locker room for halftime.
 
With 16:47 left in the second half and the game tied at 49, MSU pushed ahead with a shot by Aric Brooks, a Bastfield jumper, then a three-pointer from Blake Bozeman. That run gave the Bears a 56-49 advantage with 15:30 left and some momentum on their side.
 
Coppin fought back later on in the half. After Bozeman gave the Bears a 65-59 advantage on a three, the Eagles scored the next 11 points capped by a three-pointer from the outside corner by Gallo. The The Eagles held a 70-65 advantage with 6:57 left.
 
It came down to the last 20 seconds for both teams. Ellis converted one of two free throws to give the Eagles an 86-83 lead. Then Justin Black fed DeWayne Jackson who hit a double-clutch bankshot three-pointer with 19.1 seconds, tying the game at 86.
 
On Coppin's ensuing possession, Akeem Ellis had the ball and proceeded to drive it into the paint. As Ellis shot the ball, Kevin Thompson was called for a foul with a half second left, sending Ellis to the free throw line.
 
Ellis hit the first shot and then attempted to miss the second on purpose, but that shot went in. Justin Black nearly sent the Morgan fans into delirium with a three-point attempt from the half court line. However, that shot just landed wide right, off the backboard which ended the game and some of Coppin's fans stormed onto Morgan State's floor.

Bear Notes
Kevin Thompson finished with 19 points and became the No. 9 leading scorer in MSU history with 1,419 career points.