Box Score NORFOLK, Va. – Michael Murray, Andre Armstrong and Charles Ieans will never forget the final week of their collegiate basketball careers. The three Coppin State seniors helped the Eagles enjoy a memorable finish to the 2013-14 men's basketball season by crashing the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) semifinals.
Unfortunately for the seventh-seeded Eagles, their season ended with a 79-64 setback to third-seeded and crosstown foe Morgan State Friday night at the Scope Arena.
"Today we came out ready to play, but we didn't do a good job on the boards and I think their muscle ate at us as the game went along," Coppin State head men's basketball coach Ron "Fang" Mitchell said. "All the credit to Morgan. We couldn't find [Justin] Black, and if you can't find Black, you're in trouble. Morgan had a tremendous first half, and it put us in a hole."
Armstrong scored 13 points to lead Coppin State, which ended the season with a 12-20 record. Murray finished with six points to end his career with 1,030 points. Also reaching double figures for the Eagles was sophomore
Sterling Smith (12 points). Junior
Dallas Gary and freshman
Jerimyjah Batts combined to grab 15 rebounds.
Morgan State (16-13) rode the 30-point scoring performance of Black to advance to Saturday's MEAC title game against top-seeded North Carolina Central, which will be broadcast live on ESPNU at 6:00 p.m. Morgan State got 18 points and 11 rebounds from Ian Chiles and 12 points from Anthony Hubbard. The Bears shot 48.6 percent in the first half to open a 47-28 halftime lead.
Murray exited the court for final time as an Eagle with 35 seconds remaining. When he got to the bench, Murray shook hands with his teammates and received a word of thanks and appreciation from Mitchell. Murray then sat down and drank a cup of water.
"I was happy this year with how we competed here at the tournament," Murray said. "Today we fell short, but we kept fighting. I think our team will learn from this and come back next year hungrier and more determined. I had a good career here and I am going to miss being here, but I'll always remember this week of how we were able to win two tournament games and got to the semifinals."
Murray had a brilliant career in which he scored in double figures 46 times, recorded 18 doubles, was named MEAC Player of the Week twice, led the MEAC in rebounding as a junior, and earned first-team All-MEAC honors earlier in the week. This season alone, Murray scored 20 or more points nine times, including a career-high 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting against Delaware State.
Armstrong's final three points as collegian was nice. He crossed over a Morgan State defender, who stumbled back two steps and then fell on the ground, as Armstrong swished a 3-pointer. A sharpshooter with a reputation as a binge scorer, Armstrong made 130 3-pointers during his career, including 58 this season.
He scored in double figures 35 times during his career and hit for 20 points or more nine times. Armstrong made eight 3-pointers in a game against Norfolk State last year. He scored 702 points in his two-year at Coppin State.
"It's great that we made it to the final four [of the MEAC Tournament], but obviously, as a senior, you want to win it all," Armstrong said. "I feel as though we still have the right pieces and they can come back next year and do some good things. We're not that far off. I am glad I was able to be a part of Coppin basketball the last two years."
The Eagles played from behind the entire game as Black scored 11 of Morgan State's first 17 points. Despite their deficit, the Eagles never quit, which has been a trademark of this team all year. Coppin State kept attacking and playing hard, but it was not able to significantly cut into its deficit despite holding Morgan State scoreless for nearly three minutes when the Eagles cut the lead to 62-46 following a pair of Smith foul shots with 9:15 remaining.
Gary scored the final points of the Eagle season on a layup. During the year, Coppin State had some ups and downs along with some shining moments. The Eagles bookended their season with victories to cherish by beating Oregon State in the second game of the season in November and upsetting No. 2 seed Hampton in the quarterfinals in what turned out to be their penultimate game of the season.
There were a few tears as the Eagles headed to locker room following the game. However, as the players got dressed and departed the arena for their bus, they couldn't help but to smile at a future that has plenty of potential.
"Andre did a tremendous job for us and showed a lot of leadership while improving on his defense," Mitchell said. "Coming in and doing the things that he has done, including graduating later this year has been tremendous for the institution. Michael has been a complete player for us and led by example. He had a lot to do with our academic success that our basketball team enjoyed. We appreciate their efforts and they will all be missed."
