Morgan State 78, Coppin State 69

Morgan State won for the eighth time in 11 games and the fifth time in six, beating visiting Coppin State 78-69 Wednesday night at the Hill Field House in Baltimore.

The Bears improved their record to 11-13 overall, 9-3 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Coppin State (9-17, 6-7) lost its third consecutive game.

With 12:16 to play, Morgan State held a 53-48 lead. Within three minutes, the Bears upped the margin 62-54.

The Bears held a comfortable 71-61 edge with 3:21 to go.

Coppin State junior guard Taariq Cephas sank a 3-pointer to pull the Eagles to within 73-69 with 1:30 remaining, but Morgan State pulled away in the closing seconds.

Bears senior guard Justin Black finished with 22 points, 17 coming in the second half. Senior forward Michael Murray topped Coppin State with 21 points.

The Eagles took a 35-32 lead into halftime. The teams were tied multiple times in the first 20 minutes, including 10-10 and 20-20. With 7:28 left in the half, the Bears held a 24-23 lead before they were outscored 10-4 over the next five minutes.