The clock struck midnight for Morgan State men?s and women?s individual Cinderella seasons this past weekend in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference basketball tournaments.
Morgan?s women played in its first MEAC finals in 22 years Saturday, but came up just short in its NCAA tournament hopes when the fourth-seeded Bears (18-13) lost to Delaware State, 55-42, at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C.
The Bears loss came one day after they pulled off arguably one of the biggest upsets of the year Friday by defeating two-time defending league champion Coppin State (24-7) in overtime, 69-67, of the semifinals. The Eagles had won 49 straight conference games and 18 straight overall prior to that.
For Morgan coach Donald Beasley, the loss did not diminish the progress his program made this season after winning just five games the previous year. He earned MEAC Coach of the Year honors for his team?s performance, which included a school record for wins.
“I don?t think I realized how big it was to beat Coppin because we play them all the time and they are in our conference,” said Beasley on Sunday. “But, they are a great team and one that can compete outside the MEAC.”
Senior guard Whitney Johnson and freshman guard Corin Adams each made the MEAC All-Tournament team for the Bears, who lose five seniors next season. Coppin State must now likely prepare for playing in the Women?s National Invitational Tournament.
“I told the players to enjoy this experience because they worked for it,” said Beasley on Sunday. “The freshmen now have a taste of winning, I just wish it would have sunk in a little earlier for the upper classmen.”
Morgan State men
For the Morgan men?s team, it just missed out on advancing to the MEAC finals as the fifth-seeded Bears (13-18) lost to Delaware State, 56-53, in overtime on Friday.
Roy Bright scored the career-high 30 points, including three free throws in the final four seconds of the game after being fouled by Morgan?s Boubacar Coly. That late foul put a damper on Coly?s otherwise strong game as he finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Reserve guard Jamar Smith finished with 16 points for Morgan, who won four games the previous season.
Delaware State (21-12) ended up losing Saturday in the MEAC men?s finals to Florida A&M (21-13) as the Rattlers? Brian Greene scored on an alley-oop play at the buzzer.
