Maryland Eastern Shore stymied a second-half comeback by Morgan State to earn an 80-64 triumph over the Bears Thursday in quarter-final action of the MEAC Basketball Tournament.
The Hawks advance to play No. 1 seed Howard in the semifinals on Friday night.
Zion Styles tossed in 19 points and grabbed five rebounds to spearhead the Hawks, who also got 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds from Nathaniel Pollard, Jr. Reserves Kevon Voyles and Troy Hupstead added 11 points each in the win.
The Bears were led by Isaiah Burke with 17 points and five assists. Kamron Hobbs and Rob Lawson chipped in 11 points each and Will Thomas added 10. David McCullough led Morgan on the boards with eight rebounds to go along with two points.
Morgan State completed its season at 15-16.
The Hawks took control from the outset, building a 17-4 lead on a 3-pointer by reserve Troy Hupstead with 14:26 left in the half. The Bears roared back with eight straight points to close the gap to 17-12 with 2:37 on the first-half clock, however, an 8-2 spree by the Hawks put UMES ahead 25-14 with 9:58 showing.
Morgan State got to within 28-22 on a baseline jumper by Lewis DJonkam at the 7:11 mark but the Hawks closed the half with an 18-13 run to take an 11-point 46-35 advantage to the locker room.
Styles led UMES with 11 points in the opening half, while Hupstead contributed 10 of his total in the period.
The Bears used a 9-4 run to start the final stanza to close to within 52-46 on a 3-pointer by Hobbs with 16:55 to play.
The Bears stayed close and trailed just 55-49 after a Thomas 3-pointer at the 15:17 mark, but UMES took control of the contest by outscoring Morgan State 25-15 the rest of the way to earn the win in the rubber match between the two Maryland-based schools.
Courtesy: MEAC
