With its next seven games scheduled to be played on the road, Morgan State's men's basketball team could have used a win last night at Hill Field House.
It didn't get one.
The Bears (0-5) pulled within one of Long Island University on Brandon Battle's three-pointer with 20 seconds left, but couldn't foul the Blackbirds in time to set up a winning basket. As a result, Morgan is still looking for its first win after absorbing an 85-82 loss. It now awaits a road trip that begins next week at Wisconsin-Green Bay and ends Jan. 12 at UMBC.
"We thought we could beat this team, and I still think we should have, but attainable goals are the hardest ones to reach," said Morgan coach Lynn Ramage. "I expected us to win this game, but everythng happens for a reason. Maybe this was the best thing that could have happened to us. I know it's going to make us work harder, and it's not going to kill my optimism.
"We're a young team and an inexperienced team. One minute we look like world-beaters and the next second we look like buzzard-beaters."
Morgan, which defeated the Blackbirds in last year's meeting, 75-70, resembled its record in the early going as it forced shots and fell behind 8-2.
Sophomore guard Scott Deas ended a four-minute drought for the Bears with a layup with 15:38 remaining in the first half and Jerard Rucker gave Morgan its first lead, 12-10, with a three-pointer at the 12:46 mark.
The Blackbirds of the Northeast Conference, 3-24 a year ago, made the most of seven first-half turnovers by the Bears and led 20-15 after a breakaway layup by sophomore swingman Jason Feeley.
Every time it looked as if Long Island was sneaking away from Morgan, Rucker would hit a three-pointer. The 6-foot-3 freshman guard from Cardinal Gibbons was 3-for-3 from three-point range in the first half, and was a big reason the Bears trailed only 38-36 at the half.
Morgan came out focused and in more control in the second half and immediately began to reap the benefits of its newly found discipline. The Bears opened the half with back-to-back three-pointers and led 50-42 after two consecutive baskets by senior guard Terrence Wright.
The Bears' lead faded as quickly as it had appeared, as Long Island capitalized on more turnovers and poor shot selection by the hosts. The Blackbirds, who entered the game shooting .242 from the field, went ahead 57-55 on a three-pointer by Feeley with 12:22 remaining and never trailed again.
"Once we got the lead we let it out of our hands," said sophomore guard Paul Grant. "It's been the same story all season; we get the lead and then we get lackadaisical."
Morgan's failed comeback included a thunderous dunk by Battle.
The Blackbirds (2-3), whose other win came in their opener against Medgar Evers, went on a 14-2 run and led by as many as 11 before Morgan staged its comeback. Long Island preserved its lead by hitting 11 of 13 foul shots down the stretch.
Battle led Morgan with 20 points and Rucker added 17. Long Island's Joe Griffin led all scorers with 26.
"Like any team that keeps losing, we're starting to play like a team that is frustrated," said Ron James, Morgan's 6-7 forward. "We're playing with a lot of emotion, but you need more than emotion to win."