Fomer Howard Bison player has team one win away from NCAA bid

Photo: Mount St. Mary's head baskeball coach Milan Brown, a former Howard University and MEAC star player.

Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers take on Sacred Heart in NEC final with former Howard University Bison point guard Milan Brown heading the 'Mount' program.

EMMITSBURG, MD - The Mount St. Mary's basketball team was practicing in virtual silence earlier this week, alone in its quiet gymnasium, when Milan Brown, the team's trim, neatly dressed fifth-year coach halted the action with a sharp bleat of his black whistle.

Brown, a former point guard who looks younger than his 37 years, almost always has his whistle clenched between his teeth, ready to bring practice to a stop at a moment's notice. Sometimes, he doesn't even bother to remove it before he speaks, barking out instructions, encouragement or discipline like a man whose jaw has been wired shut.

But on this day, he calmly took the whistle out of his mouth, and in gentle tones, locked eyes with his players. "You all better get your mind right," Brown said, in soft but stern tones. "Get your mind right -- right now. Because you won't be able to do it later."

Brown, a basketball lifer, was trying to impart the kind of wisdom that comes only with experience. He knew that this might be the last chance for his team to truly focus without any distractions, because ready or not, Mount St. Mary's might be on the verge of something big.

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Morgan State pulls away in second half from UMES

Photo: Forward Boubacar Coly had 15 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots in his outing with UMES. The 6-9/220 senior is from Ziguinchor, Senegal, Laurinburg Institute.

Senior guard Jamar Smith scored 18 points, and three Bears posted double doubles in a 67-52 victory that didn't satisfy coach Todd Bozeman. The lead changed hands eight times in the first half, and there were three ties before senior center Boubacar Coly scored inside with 2:51 left to put Morgan ahead 32-30. Junior forward Marquise Kately added a free throw before the buzzer.

That was ugly," Bozeman said. "We didn't play well at all, but the hard part is, when you're trying to change a [losing] culture and you've got a bull's eye on your back, everybody is coming after you." The Bears (12-8, 7-1) are off to their best start since the 1978-79 season, when they were 18-12. They've won five straight games and are 6-0 at home.

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