"Once you drink from that cup, you want more," said Morgan State University Coach Todd Bozeman, who will make his fifth NCAA appearance in eight years as a Division I coach; he was 3-for-4 at University of California, Berkeley.WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Kevin Thompson lived through the culture shock of playing against Oklahoma and Blake Griffin in last year's NCAA tournament. In terms of lessons learned, that experience might have paved the way for Morgan State's return to the big stage. Thompson punched the ticket for the Bears' second straight trip to the NCAA tournament Saturday, delivering a 68-61 victory over South Carolina State in the championship game of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
His dominant performance - 18 points, 10 rebounds, five blocked shots - was his second double double in three games here and earned him the Outstanding Performer award of the tournament. More than that, it might have been the formal coming-out party for the 6-foot-8 sophomore from Walbrook. In a game in which the Bears (27-9) surged and sagged, took a 10-point lead and gave it up, Thompson was a constant force inside that the smaller Bulldogs (18-14) had no answer for. Even though South Carolina State out-rebounded the Bears 36-32, it was Morgan's relentless inside game that made the difference. In a seven-point victory, the Bears outscored the Bulldogs 34-16 in the paint.
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