Morgan State University Athletics

Boxscore

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.- Morgan State came into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament winners of four of their last five games. However, the Bears' struggles with converting field goals was their undoing this Tuesday afternoon.  

Hampton found their stride with their three-point shooting and Darrion Pellum stepped up late to help them defeat the Bears 69-65 in the first round action of the MEAC Tournament.
 
The loss ended what was a tumultuous season for head coach Todd Bozeman and his Bears.

“It's tough to take a loss on the first day. It's been the most challenging season I've ever had in my career,” said Bozeman, whose Bears finished the season 9-20. “So you're either succeeding or you're learning. So I learned a lot this year. I want to congratulate Hampton for moving on in the tournament. I'm sorry to see our seniors go out. I wish they could've obviously gone out on a better note.”
 
MSU was very much in the game despite converting only four of 32 field goals in the first half. It was because of their rebounding, particularly on the offensive end.  The Bears outrebounded Hampton by a 48-35 margin that included 21 offensive boards. 
 
Bozeman touched on the rebounding, “It did give us second chance opportunities," said Bozeman regarding the rebounding, "it limited them [Hampton] to one opportunity. So that's how the rebounds helped us in the first half. If we make our free throws in the first half or make some more shots, maybe it's a little different ballgame. But it helped us to not allow [Hampton] to get second shots.”
 
“We thought that we should've been up before the halftime," said Kevin Thompson, who finished with 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. "I thought we should've been blowing them out by now with the shots we were missing and the free throws. We were coming back and trying to build that up.”
 
The game was nip and tuck for most of the second half. Thompson gave MSU their final lead of the game, 55-54, on a three-point play with 2:40 remaining.
 
Hampton (11-20) scored the next 10 points and sealed the Bears' fate. The run started when Jasper Williams, who scored 20 points, hit an off-balanced three-pointer. Williams hurt the Bears from long range, nailing five of seven shots three-pointers. It ended on Darrion Pellum's four consecutive free throws. The last two with 39 seconds left put the Pirates up to stay at 64-55.
 
Pellum led everyone with 23 points on the afternoon. But he wasn't the sole focus for Morgan State defensively according to Bozeman.

“Pellum leads the MEAC in scoring, so he's going to get his points," added Bozeman. "So we weren't really concerned about that. “Obviously, we didn't want somebody else to step up, which Jasper Williams did. He stepped up for Hampton and gave them big minutes, particularly in the second half. So you're always looking for somebody else to step up and Williams was the one today.”
 
Senior Aric Brooks led the Bears with 18 points.