Day One of the MEAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament
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University of Maryland Eastern Shore Lady Hawks taking on Morgan State Lady Bears in the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
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Norfolk, VA— It’s the start of the Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference (MEAC) men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The site of the tournaments, the Norfolk
Scope Arena, was full of energy, hope, and HBCU (Historical Black College/ University)
love. Fans all over the arena were cheering
and repping their alma mater. The day
started off with the women’s tournament.
Norfolk State Spartans vs. South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs
The first seed and MEAC regular season champions
Norfolk State Spartans struggled early against the eighth seed South Carolina State
Lady Bulldogs. The Spartans shot a poor 37.5
percent from the field in first half. They
missed non-contested shots, which seemed to be caused by nerves. Norfolk State forward Kierra Wheeler scored four
points in the first half. She talked about
playing in her first MEAC tournament.
“This was my first year in the tournament. In the beginning, it was jitters.”
Wheeler and the Spartans ended the first half only up
22-14. Norfolk State coach Larry Vickers
calmed his team down during halftime.
“I just told them to settle down a little bit. Once we settled down, we were alright.”
There was a change in the second half. The Spartans started the half on a 13-0 run and
push their lead to 35-14. After that
point, they cruised to a 61-37 victory over the Lady Bulldogs. Wheeler, who had four points at half, scored
15 points in the second half for a total of 19 points.
Norfolk State is moving onto the semifinals to take on the winner of the fourth seed North Carolina Central and fifth seed Coppin State matchup.
University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Lady Hawks vs. Morgan State Lady Bears
In the second matchup of the day, the seventh seed UMES
Lady Hawks took on the second seed Morgan State Lady Bears in a very
competitive game. The Lady Hawks jumped
to a 26-12 lead in the second quarter, lead by the play of guard Zamara Haynes
who had 15 points in the first half. Her
ability to break down her defender one-on-one was a problem for Morgan State
all half. When she wasn’t finishing
around the basket, she was assisting her teammates to score.
Morgan State didn’t lie down to Haynes masterful play
in the first half.
Morgan State and First Team All-MEAC forward Charlene
Sheppard willed her team back into the game.
She scored 12 points in the half, helping Morgan State cut the Lady
Hawks’ lead to 26-23.
The Lady Bears had all the momentum until Haynes made
a big last second three-pointer from the corner to end Morgan State’s 11-0 run,
giving the Lady Hawks a 29-23 lead to end the half. Haynes was confident that the shot was going
in.
“It felt good the whole way, as soon as I caught the ball. I just knew it was going to be good.”
Morgan State answered the challenge of being down in
the second half. They eventually went on
another 11-0 run, taking a 40-36 lead into the fourth quarter.
While UMES was trying to gather themselves from the
Lady Bears’ run, Lady Hawks forward Ariana Seawell stepped up with valuable
minutes. She scored six points in the fourth
quarter, helping UMES regain the lead (44-43) at the 6:02 mark. Neither team scored until the1:41 mark, where
UMES center Mahogany Lester made a free throw to increase the UMES lead to two (45-43). UMES held on to the upset 49-46. This was a hard fault game. UMES head coach Fred Batchelor was emotional
after the game.
“The more I do this causes you to be sometimes a
little emotional. I appreciate these
kids for what they give every day.”
It’s the third time since 2015 that UMES has defeated
a top two seed in the MEAC tournament. The Lady Hawks will play the winner between
the third seed Howard Bison and the sixth seed Delaware State Lady Hornets in
the MEAC semifinals.
South Carolina State Bulldogs vs. Howard Bison (men’s basketball)
The start of the men’s tournament featured the first seed
Howard Bison and the eighth seed South Carolina State Bulldogs. Howard handled the Bulldogs easily, winning
91-55. There was no let down after Howard
defeated Norfolk State last Thursday to win the MEAC regular season title. Howard forward Shy Odom set the tone for the Bison
scoring 11 points in the first half.
Howard’s defense was elite, forcing 20 turnovers. Coach Kenneth Blakeney was happy with Howards’
defensive effort against the Bulldogs.
“What was really cool about the way we played is I
loved the way we defended, and our defense allowed us to get out in transition.”
This was a dominant game by Howard, and they looked to be on a mission. The Bison will play the winner between the fourth seed UMES Fighting Hawks and fifth seed Morgan State.
Delaware State Hornets vs. North Carolina Central Eagles (NCCU)
In the final men’s basketball game of the night between the seventh seed Delaware State Hornets and the second seed North Carolina Central Eagles, the Eagles brought their hallmark energic play. NCCU built a 36-24 lead at halftime with the help of Eagles guard Justin Wright. The Eagles regular season leading scorer was assertive and led the team with 12 points at half.
The Eagles continued to pile on in the second
half. Guard Eric Boone helped push the
Eagles lead to 54-29 at the 15:03 mark with a three-point basketball to take
the will away from the Hornets. The Eagles
ended up winning the game 89-59. Wright
had a game high of 23 points. NCCU
Coach Levelle Moton said that he believes that his team can “run the table” in
the MEAC tournament and he explained why.
“I believe in these guys. I believe in our team and our ability to defend. I just think that separates us from everyone
else when we focus and put our minds to it.”
NCCU has a date with the winner between the third seed
Norfolk State and sixth seed Coppin State Eagles.
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Day one of the MEAC Tournament had a lot of excellent basketball. It’s setting the stage for several exciting games.
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