Winston-Salem, N.C., March 12?Michael Harper scored a team-high 17 points but it was Tywain McKee who made the difference, converting a key 3-point play to lead Coppin State to a hard-fought, 66-63, win over North Carolina A&T in the quarterfinal round of the MEAC tournament at the Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum.  

 

The Eagles (13-18), the Number 5 seed, will take on Morgan State, the Number 1 seed in Friday’s semifinals beginning at 6 p.m.

 

The game featured two evenly matched teams who took turns exchanging blows in an intense and physical game.  It went back and forth until the Eagles took a 60-54 lead at the 5:55 mark on a Mike Buckley basket.

 

The Aggies (16-16) answered with a basket by Tavarus Alston and a 3-pointer by Dwane Joshua to take the one point advantage, 62-61, with 1:08. 

 

McKee, the MEAC Player of the Year, followed the Aggies’ basket with the play of the game, picking off an NC A&T pass and dribbling it the length of the court and finishing with a three-point play that energized his team.

 

“I can’t count the times that he has come through for us in the clutch,” said Coppin State Coach Ron “Fang” Mitchell.  “It was a big steal and an even tougher shot.  But he has been doing this for four years.”

 

Added McKee, the reigning tournament MVP, “They had been running that same play over and over and I knew that we had to have a stop or a big play.  I knew he (the defender) was there and that I had to finish strong.”

 

North Carolina A&T held a decided advantage on the boards (45-27) and in second chance opportunities (27-10).  But the turnovers negated that advantage.

 

 “Twenty one turnovers are too much,” lamented NC A&T Coach Jerry Eaves.  “I told the team before the game that if we could keep our turnovers to under 14, we would win going away.  We killed them on the boards, but we committed too many turnovers.  We gave the game away.”

 

The loss overshadowed a fine effort by the Aggies’ Ed Jones, who led all scorers with 22 and Thomas Coleman, who recorded a double-double of 12 points, 13 rebounds.

 

Harper led the Eagles with 17 and McKee recorded eight assists in addition to 14 points.

 

It will be a short turnaround for the Eagles, who will face Morgan State, the team they lost to twice during the regular season.

 

 “It is going to be a very tough challenge going against them,” said Mitchell. “They are very strong and we have less than 24 hours before we play.  We like the challenge though.”