Point guard James "Itchy" Bolden helped scratched a 32-year itch for the Morgan State Bears.
Bolden spearheaded the Bears first Mid-Eastern Athletic title on Saturday with an 83-69 victory over upstart Norfolk State at Joel Coliseum.
It was the steady play of Bolden, who delivered 18 points, two assists and five rebounds, but more importantly helped break the full-court pressure of the Spartans at key moments.
Backing Bolden was Reggie Holmes who had 20 points and six rebounds, and Rogers Barnes scored 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had two assists. Freshman Kevin Thompson came off the bench to score 15 points and grab 11 rebounds.
The victory for the Bears gives them an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as they improved to 23-11 and can look forward to a possible 15th or even maybe a 14th seed in the tournament when the pairings are announced tonight.
The Spartans (13-18) were led by Michael Deloach with 30 points and Corey Lyons added 14 before fouling out.
The Bears only other MEAC Tournament title was in 1977.
John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or jdell@wsjournal.com
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