RICHMOND, Va. -- There was a wild celebration around Coppin State senior Jerel Seamon, but he didn't appear to notice it. What Seamon appeared to be was stunned, standing on the court with both hands on top of his head long after his teammates had left the court.

Coppin State entered the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament as the No. 2 seed. And the Eagles left swiftly, losing to ninth-seeded Florida A&M;, 80-69, in a quarterfinal game last night. It was only the second time that Coppin, which has won or shared the last seven MEAC regular-season titles, has lost in the first round (the Eagles were beaten by Morgan in the first round in 1994).

"They didn't go out with the big bang," coach Fang Mitchell said afterward of his team. "This is tournament time, there's no tomorrow. We had to play a lot harder."

Hard play was what allowed Coppin to win 13 of its final 14 games going into last night, allowing the Eagles to earn a share of the regular season championship despite beginning the season with a 2-12 record.

Hard play is what earned Coppin the reputation of being the school you didn't want to play.

Hard play, particularly on the defensive end, was not on display by Coppin last night. The Eagles were out-rebounded 43-26. And for a team that had limited its last 14 opponents to a combined 39.7 percent shooting from the field (none of the 14 shot better than 50 percent), the Eagles allowed Florida A&M; (10-18) to shoot 51.9 percent -- including 58.3 percent in the second half.

"You can't go out and not play defense," Mitchell said. "We're the best defensive team in the league. I just don't understand it."

The Rattlers outscored Coppin in the paint 42-16. And 18 of Florida A&M;'s 27 field goals came on layups.

Travis Grant (18 points) did the damage from the outside in the first half, hitting six of seven shots (including four of five three-pointers) on the way to 16 first-half points.

And in the second half it was 6-foot guard Monroe Pippins who constantly drove past the Coppin defense, going inside for easy scores. Pippins finished with 23 points -- 21 of those coming in the second half.

"We were in a zone, and they dribbled, penetrated and got easy shots all game," Mitchell said. "The team we played, you have to go out and be aggressive. We were not aggressive."

In fact, Coppin nearly got blown out of the game in the first half, falling behind by as many as 13 points. A sign of things to come came on Coppin's first possession, when senior guard Fred Warrick (23 points) missed a driving dunk.

Warrick wasn't alone. Rafi Reavis missed a wide open layup. Center Dorian Pena short-armed several wide-open jump shots.

Coppin was lucky to be trailing by just 38-28 at the half, that coming after Warrick banked in a three-pointer from just over half court at the buzzer.

"As a team, we didn't do the things we were capable of doing," said Mitchell. "We're supposed to be the best defensive team in the conference. When you give up easy shots like we did. You have to put easy shots in also. We had easy shots, and we didn't put those in. If you can't make the basic shots, you're going to have problems."

Coppin would rally in the second half, helped by foul trouble that had the Eagles shooting free throws with 12 minutes left in the game.

The Eagles also intensified their defensive pressure, forcing 10 turnovers in the second half.

But after cutting the deficit to 57-55 with 8: 10 left, the Eagles could get no closer. Pippins responded with a three-pointer and the next four Florida A&M; field goals came on layups.

What was surprising about the loss was that Coppin had dominated the Rattlers in recent years, winning five straight going into last night, 20 of the previous 23 and a sweep of the two- game series this year.

But it was quite clear that Florida A&M; was the better team, which was why Coppin's season came to an abrupt end.

"I thought FAMU was a very hungry ball team," Mitchell said. "We never really stepped it up. We were always a step behind. They deserved to win the game. I just hope in the future I have teams with a lot more aggression."

And the loss left the Eagles in yet another stage of rebuilding. Warrick, one of four seniors on the team, was Coppin's top scorer this season. While he hit a respectable nine of 16 shots on the way to his 23 points (point guard Jorge Cajigas led the team with 26 points), Warrick had a hard time getting his shot off.

"It's real disappointing," Warrick said of the end of his career. "The last couple of games of the season we were rebounding real good. In a one-game elimination, for us to get out-rebounded really hurt us."

FLORIDA A&M; -- Scott 4-8 2-3 10, George 0-3 4-5 4, Pippins 8-13 5-6 23, Grant 7-10 0-0 18, Green 1-5 0-0 2, Cuyler 3-4 6-8 12, Rhodes 4-8 3-5 11, Jenkins 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-52 20-27 80.

COPPIN STATE -- Pointer 0-1 1-2 1, Seamon 0-6 2-4 2, Cajigas 7-14 9-10 26, Warrick 9-16 1-1 23, Pena 3-9 7-12 13, Sims 1-5 1-2 4, Hamond 0-1 0-0 0, Reavis 0-1 0-0 0, Lee 0-0 0-0 0, Watkins 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-54 21-31 69.

Halftime--Florida A&M;, 38-28. Three-point goals--FAM 6-14 (Grant 4-7, Pippins 2-4, Green 0-3); CS 8-21 (Warrick 4-9, Cajigas 3-6, Sims 1-3, Seamon 0-3). Rebounds--FAM 43 (Grant 8); CS 26 (Watkins 5). Assists--FAM 12 (Green 5); CS 7 (Sims 4). Fouled out--Scott, George, Cajigas, Warrick. Total fouls--FAM 26, CS 25. A--1,915.

Pub Date: 3/04/99