NORFOLK, Va. — The last match-up between Morgan State and Savannah State took two overtimes to decide, with the Tigers winning a 58-50 game Jan. 14 in Baltimore.
The Norfolk stanza of the showdown — in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference quarterfinals — proved to be just as thrilling, but not quite as lengthy Thursday night.
SSU, after some sloppy shooting in regulation and a couple of fortunate breaks to get back into the contest, managed to force overtime but was overcome by the hot shooting of the Bears’ Justin Black in a 64-61 loss to Morgan State.
After a trio of first-round exits from No. 1 Norfolk State, No. 2 North Carolina Central and No. 3 Hampton, SSU (19-14) was the highest seed remaining in the tournament. But the fourth-seeded squad succumbed to defensive miscues in the extra five minutes, dooming any hopes for a semifinal showdown with Bethune-Cookman.
Now, the Bears (15-15) move on, creating a semifinal with only one team — North Carolina A&T — with a record above .500.
SSU shot 39.2 percent from the field, with Preston Blackmon and Deven Williams going a combined 10 of 30 from the field and 4 of 16 on 3-pointers. And after chipping away at a 10-point deficit early in the second half, the Tigers’ shooting woes caught up to them.
SSU took a slim lead into the final minute of the game, when Blackman found Rashad Hassan for a dunk to bring the margin to three in the Tigers’ favor. But Justin Black made his way down the floor for MSU, buried a wide-open 3-pointer and knotted the game up at 55.
On the next possession, Williams caught a pass in the corner for an uncontested three with the shot clock winding down and 7 seconds remaining. But he airballed the attempt, and a desperation shot by the Bears went wide to force overtime.
In the extra period, both teams again went bucket for bucket as the Tigers failed to create any separation, with Williams and Black trading threes.
It looked as if the two would again decide things in double-overtime, until an offensive rebound by MSU led to a wide-open three by Black — who scored seven points in overtime en route to a team-high 20 — with 31 seconds left. Despite his shooting woes, Williams finished with 20 points for the Tigers. Hassan neared a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Blackman finished with six assists and 10 points.
Bears center Ian Chiles, a 7-foot-2 junior, helped MSU in the paint, earning 14 points and four blocks to go with five rebounds. Dewayne Jackson chipped in 11 points for the MSU.
DELAWARE STATE 63,
HAMPTON 60
NORFOLK, Va. — Kendall Gray, Casey Walker and Tahj Tate combined for 38 points as sixth-seeded Delaware State became the latest team to pull an upset in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference quarterfinals, knocking off No. 3 seed Hampton.
The top three seeds in the MEAC have all lost in the quarterfinals, with top-seeded Norfolk State falling to eighth-seeded Bethune-Cookman, and seventh-seeded North Carolina A&T knocking off second-seeded North Carolina Central on Wednesday.
With the win, Delaware State (15-17) moves on to play N.C. A&T today at 8 p.m.
The Pirates (14-17) swept the Hornets during the regular season, but couldn’t overcome a 32-25 halftime deficit Thursday.
Gray and Walker each had 13 points and Tate 12 for Delaware State. Marques Oliver added eight points with 11 rebounds.
Du’Vaughn Maxwell paced the Pirates with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
MEAC TOURNAMENT
At Norfolk Scope
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, March 13
Bethune-Cookman 70, Norfolk State 68, OT
N.C. A&T 55, N.C. Central 42
Thursday, March 14
Delaware State 63, Hampton 60
Morgan State 64, Savannah State 61, OT
Semifinals
Friday, March 15
Bethune-Cookman vs. Morgan State, 6 p.m.
N.C. A&T vs. Delaware State, 8 p.m.
Championship
Saturday, March 16
Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.