Aaries Reed came of the bench and scored 13 points and added three rebounds at Bethune-Cookman Monday afternoon.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 19, 2009)-Morgan State nearly overcame a 12-point second half deficit, pulling within a point with 38 seconds remaining, but the comeback fell short, as Bethune-Cookman earned an 83-78 victory over the visiting Lady Bears in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game Monday afternoon. The victory would be the first MEAC win of the season for B-CU and first-year head coach Vanessa Inge.
Led by Cleniece Roberts' game-high 21 points in a reserve role, four Lady Wildcats scored in double figures. Demetria Frank added 15 points to go along with her game-high 10 rebounds, while Sarah Bolden and Jasmine Daniels chipped in with 12 points apiece.
The Lady Bears (11-5, 3-2 MEAC) were led by Corin Adams, who scored 13 of her team-high 18 points in the second half and Erin Hawkins finished with 14. Aaries Reed came off the bench to score 13 points, while Phylicia Jones added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and a team-high eight rebounds.
Morgan State headed into the contest having won six of the previous seven meetings, including three straight over B-CU, but none of them had been pretty or easy at all. This game wasn't any different and the fact that Morgan was playing in the tight confines of Moore Gymnasium, for the first time in over four years didn't help.
Even when it wasn't looking good for the Lady Bears and they were down 12 points with 11:35 left in the contest, due to how close the games have been in recent years, a Morgan State run was going to happen. Last season the Lady Bears needed two free throws by Adams with 0.1 remaining on the clock to force overtime, before defeating Bethune-Cookman on the road, 55-50 at the Ocean Center.
The host Lady Wildcats (7-8, 1-4 MEAC) held a 69-58 advantage with 6:03 left, following a jumper by Euneshia Proctor, but Morgan State responded with a 15-5 run to pull within 74-73 with 38 seconds left. DeKeisha Mathis triggered the run with a three-pointer from the right corner. Hawkins later connected on a trey to make it a 74-70 game and Reed scored on a put-back and added the free throw to complete the three-point play and draw the guests within a point.
However, in the end the Lady Bears would be done in by the inability to get the crucial defensive rebound down the stretch, as Bethune-Cookman would secure the victory by hitting 9-of-10 free throws, including eight straight to close out the game for the win.
After making the first of two free throws to give the Lady Wildcats a 75-73 lead, Daniels missed the second, but Bolden grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Bolden knocked down both from the charity stripe to increase the lead to four. The Lady Wildcats would extend their cushion to 81-75, before a three-pointer by Adams with 2.1 left made it a three-point deficit. Frank added two free throws for the game's final score.
Bethune-Cookman shot 39 percent (26-of-66) for the game and was 5-for-10 from three-point range. The Lady Wildcats also shot 72 percent from the charity stripe, connecting on 26-of-36 from the free throw line.
The Lady Bears shot 27-of-62 (43.5 percent) from the floor and was 10-of-27 (37 percent) from behind the arc. Morgan State connected on 14-of-16 (87 percent) from the free throw line. Allison Lester matched her career-high by recording a game-high four of Morgan's seven blocked shots.
The Lady Bears return home on Thursday, Jan. 22, when they host North Carolina Central in a non-conference game at Hill Field House. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Morgan State defeated the Lady Eagles earlier this season, 63-53, in Durham (11/17).
