Throughout regulation of last night's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game against Hampton, Morgan State relied on the heavy hand of 6-foot-9 center Boubacar Coly.
In overtime, however, it was the feather-light touch of 5-10 point guard Jerrell Green that led the Bears to a 66-62 win before a season-high announced 3,738 at Hill Field House.
After his team blew an 11-point lead in regulation, Green scored nine points in a span of less than three minutes, helping the Bears extend their perfect home record and move closer to their first regular-season MEAC title since 1977.
"They got so comfortable with me not shooting the ball that they stayed so far off me that I just finally stepped up and made the shot," Green said. "I knew that once I got one to go down, I'd be OK."
With the win, the Bears (18-9, 12-2 MEAC) built a 1 1/2 -game lead over Norfolk State atop the conference. With just two league games remaining, they can clinch at least a share of the regular-season title Saturday if they defeat host Delaware State or Norfolk State, which has three conference games remaining, loses to host Hampton.
Morgan State improved to 11-0 at Hill Field House. The previous school record for consecutive home wins in a season had been nine.
Coly finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks but couldn't help his team preserve its lead in the game's final minutes.
Hampton, which had trailed since the game's first basket, pulled even on Matthew Pilgrim's layup with 1:12 left. The Pirates had a chance to take their first lead, but Theo Smalling was called for traveling as he started to make a move toward the basket with 16 seconds to play. But the Bears then turned the ball over at their end as regulation expired.
Trailing by three early in the overtime period, Morgan broke on top with the help of Green, who took control of the game with a three-pointer, a three-point play and a fast-break layup - all in the less than three minutes.
"Our guys stepped up and showed leadership," Bears coach Todd Bozeman said. "Jerrell really led them tonight, and that's what I've been trying to teach him."
Morgan got off to a quick start, thanks mainly to its relentless half-court defense.
Over the first 11 minutes, the Bears held Hampton (15-11, 8-5) to 1-for-16 from the field - including four blocks by Coly - with five turnovers.
HAMPTON-Smalling 1-4 0-2 2, Woodard 3-6 1-2 7, Harrison 2-5 0-0 4, Simpson 2-14 1-2 5, West 6-18 6-8 19, Pilgrim 5-7 0-1 11, Tunnell 0-2 3-4 3, Brooks 0-1 3-4 3, Easterling 1-1 0-0 2, Ntoko 0-0 0-0 0, Sumner 2-2 0-0 6, Robinson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-60 14-23 62. MORGAN STATE-Johnson 2-2 0-0 4, Kately 6-12 1-3 13, Coly 5-17 8-10 18, Green 4-9 4-5 13, Smith 1-6 1-2 3, Bolden 0-2 1-2 1, Holmes 1-5 4-4 6, Barnes 3-4 0-0 8, Aujla 0-4 0-0 0, Hemsley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-61 19-26 66. Half-Morgan St. 30-21. Regulation-Tied 50. 3-point goals-Hampton 4-16 (Sumner 2-2, Pilgrim 1-1, West 1-6, Woodard 0-1, Simpson 0-6), Morgan St. 3-17 (Barnes 2-2, Green 1-4, Kately 0-1, Bolden 0-2, Smith 0-2, Aujla 0-3, Holmes 0-3). Fouled out-Pilgrim, Smalling. Rebounds-Hampton 36 (Harrison 8), Morgan St. 50 (Coly 15). Assists-Hampton 10 (West 5), Morgan St. 15 (Green 5). Total fouls-Hampton 24, Morgan St. 22. A-3,738.