Morgan’s men’s basketball team defeated the Coppin State Eagles 78-60 Thursday night at the school’s Hill Field House in the last regular season game of the 2023-2024 season.
“Tonight was about winning and I know how important it is for the Morgan community to beat Coppin and that was my only focus,” Bears head coach Kevin Broadus said.
Senior guard Wynston Tabbs did not play in this game due to a broken finger in his shooting hand. The injury happened at last week’s game against the team North Carolina Central Eagles. Tabbs has been a standout player this season and says he will be ready for next week’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) tournament.
Both teams fought hard for dominance in the first half of Thursday’s game as the lead was tied seven times. The Eagles’ largest lead was six points in the first half. The Bears would only be up two points at the end of the first half, however they would outscore the Eagles 44-28 in the second half.
“We played the first half as bad as we have played in a while because I think our guys were feeding off the adrenaline and the crowd,” Broadus said. “But once we calmed down in the second half, we played like I think we can play to win games in the MEAC tournament.”
The Bears outperformed the Eagles in the paint throughout the duration of the game, scoring 44 points. Junior guard Amahrie Simpkins scored 14 points in the paint and finished the game with a double-double, scoring 17 points and 10 rebounds.
“He has been playing pretty well lately,” Broadus said. “When he’s locked in, he’s pretty good. He got them long arms and was playing defense and rebounding.”
The Eagles shot 6 for 13 from beyond the arc in the first half, but the Bears would hold them to shoot 1 for 10 from beyond the arc in the second half.
According to Broadus, the Coppin State rivals’ defense and rebounding is what gave opportunity to the Bears in the second half.
Junior forward Allen Udemadu said that he took it personal when he allowed Eagles senior forward Justin Winston (his matchup) to score the first eight out of nine points of the game for the Eagles. From there, Udemadu stepped up on defense and dominated in the paint as well, finishing the game with a double-double, scoring 12 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks.
“Like coach said, [I was] taking pride in defense. I’ve taken pride in doing that and protecting the basket,” Udemadu said. “Regardless if it’s a layup, dunks, whatever it is, I am contesting that.”
Junior forward Will Thomas would be the team’s leading scorer, finishing the game with 25 points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal and shot 83% from the free-throw line.
“Confidence and just finding my shots in the right areas of offense [is what helped us win],” Thomas said when describing how he assisted the team in grabbing the win.
The Bears will face off against the Howard University Bison in the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They’ll take to the court again at Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. on March 14 at 6 p.m.