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• Mar 16, 2008 1:53 pm US/Eastern
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  Coppin Wins NCAA Tournament Bid After Morgan Upset

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Coppin Wins NCAA Tournament Bid After Morgan Upset

Reporting
Kathryn Brown

March Madness is officially underway -- with three local teams heading to the NCAA tournament.  An upset made it possible for one team.

Kathryn Brown reports underdog Coppin State beat Morgan State by just two points with a final score of 62-60. 

Tywain McKee's driving layup with 2 seconds left helped Coppin State upset top-seeded Morgan State on Saturday night in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship.

McKee tied a season high with 33 points for the seventh-seeded Eagles (16-20), who blew a five-point lead with 11/2 minutes remaining but recovered to claim their first league title -- and first NCAA tournament berth -- since 1997.

California transfer Marquise Kately led Morgan State (22-10) with 21 points, but was held scoreless in the final 12 minutes.

After the Bears tied it 60-all on Jermaine Bolden's free throw with 29.3 seconds left, McKee took over.

He walked the ball downcourt, dribbled some time off the clock, and made his move with about 5 seconds left, cutting right and floating the go-ahead shot over three defenders.

Morgan State had one last chance when Kately inbounded to Reggie Holmes, who took two dribbles and heaved a long 3-pointer that bounced off the rim as time expired.

The Eagles made a celebration pile near one free throw line to celebrate their fourth -- and most unlikely -- MEAC championship.

They won four games in the tournament by a combined six points, and have won 12 of 13 since starting the season 4-19.

Now, the program that pulled one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history in its last visit -- the 15th-seeded Eagles shocked No. 2 seed South Carolina in 1997 -- is headed back onto the sport's biggest stage, though with a losing record they know they're likely headed to the Tuesday night's play-in game in Dayton.

Holmes finished with 14 points for the Bears, who will make their first postseason trip as a Division I member -- just not the one they wanted. Instead of delivering second-year coach Todd Bozeman's first appearance in the NCAA tournament, they're headed to the National Invitation Tournament because they won the league's regular-season title.

Bozeman, the MEAC's coach of the year, led California to the NCAAs three times, but resigned in 1996 amid an NCAA investigation.

Coppin State joins two other Maryland teams heading to the NCAA tournament.  UMBC and Mount St. Mary's University have both won tournament bids.

In a statement, Mayor Sheila Dixon said, "On behalf of the people and city of Baltimore, I congratulate the players and coaches of the Coppin State Women's and Men's basketball teams for both winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament and qualifying for their respective NCAA tournaments.  We are fortunate to be the home city of many outstanding collegiate sports programs.  Coppin State Women's Coach Derek Brown and Men's Coach Ron `Fang' Mitchell are helping to carry our tradition of basketball excellence to another level.  I wish both teams the best of luck in the NCAA tournament.  Go Eagles!"

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)