NORFOLK, Va—Reginald Johnson, Jr. scored a team-high 19 points and dished out a career-high 13 assists to lead Hampton University to an 83-81 win over Morgan State University in the quarterfinal round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament at the Scope.

The Pirates (19-10), the Number 1 seed and defending tournament champs, will take on the winner of the Bethune Cookman-South Carolina State winner in the semifinal round on Friday at 6 pm.

Hampton controlled the game throughout by using a balanced attack and a dominating effort in the paint.  Johnson was the conductor as he dealt out nine assists in the first half while also scoring seven points as the Pirates led 43-38 at the half.

Morgan State (9-22), the Number 9 seed, which had advanced following a win over Maryland Eastern Shore on Tuesday, had trailed by 11 at one point before closing the gap on the scoring of veterans Donte Pretlow and Cedric Blossom, who combined for 23 points on 9 of 13 shooting from the field.

The Bears were able to get a quick second half run over the first 2:13 of the second half to tie the game at 45.
           
But each time, Morgan State threatened to take control, it was Johnson, a first team All-MEAC pick, who would make the plays that kept his team in front.
           
In addition to the all-around play of Johnson, the Pirates outmuscled the shorter Bears by holding a 56-36 advantage in the paint.
           
Pretlow, Blossom and Phillip Carr did all they could to keep up with the Pirates, but in the end, they came up short.
           
In addition to Johnson's contributions, the Pirates got 17 points and nine rebounds from first team All-MEAC  selection Quinton Chievous, 14 from Brian Darden and 10 from Jervon Pressley off the bench.

Morgan drew within 83-78 on a three from Phillip Carr with 1:28 remaining. But what was an empty possession for Hampton after that turned into two to three chances late with them collecting crucial offensive rebounds, whih sealed the deal for the Pirates. 
           
Pretlow led all scorers with a career-high 27, Blossom chipped in with 19, Phillip had 10 and Simpson, seven points and 10 rebounds.

Hampton wanted to force the Bears to shoot more from the outside and three-point range than going inside. It didn't work out too much.

"We shot 53 percent from the three and 50 percent from the floor," said MSU head coach Todd Bozeman. "It isn't that many times you're going to shoot that way and lose games. So it wasn't our offense; it was us getting stops."

Hampton outrebounded the Bears 37-32, which included a 16-10 edge on the offensive boards. That led to a 20-9 edge on second chance points whoch Bozeman said was a huge factor

"They hurt us on the second chance opportunities," Bozeman said. "They scored 56 points in the paint, so that tells the story. But even with that, we're talking about a couple of possessions that determined the game. So even with that size advantage, you're talking about three or four opportunites where we're right down to the last second on the shot clock. It is what it is."

Bozeman also recognized his seniors during the postgame press conference.

"I feel bad these two guys sitting up here with me (referring to Pretlow and Blossom). I thought those guys did a great job," said Bozeman. "When they came in as freshman, you know...they've been through a lot. They're outstanding student-athletes. I'm proud of them. I look for them to be outstanding citizens."

Bear Bits
- Donte Pretlow completes his Bear career as the school's No. 3 leader in assists (335) and ranks No. 11 in steals (131).
- Cedric Blossom completes his Bear career as the school's No. 19 leading scorer (1,078 points) and ranks No. 11 in rebounds (593).