NORFOLK, VA - Bethune-Cookman's third consecutive appearance trip in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference semifinals ended just like its first - with a loss to Morgan State.

The fifth-seeded Bears built an early lead and repelled several rallies by the eighth-seeded Wildcats to earn an 82-71 win over the Wildcats Friday in semifinal action of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament at The Scope Arena.

The Bears, the highest seed remaining in the tournament, connected on almost 57 percent of their field goal attempts in earning the victory and a trip to Saturday's finals against the winner of the other semifinal match between North Carolina A&T and Delaware State.

The Wildcats conclude the season 14-20 with the loss to a Morgan State squad they haven't played since that 2011 semifinal.

"We didn't have a feel  how big and physical Morgan was," said B-CU Head Coach Gravelle Craig. "It took a while for us to adjust."

Sophomore forward Shaquille Duncan led the way for Morgan State with 17 points, on a 7-of-8 effort from the field.  Junior guard Justin Black and senior forward Dwayne Jackson added 16 points each in the contest, the first meeting between the two teams in two years. Anthony Hubbard was also in double figures with 11 points for Coach Todd Bozeman's squad, which climbed to 17-14. Black added a team-high nine rebounds.

The Wildcats, who eliminated top-seeded Norfolk State 70-68 on Wednesday, were paced by senior guard Kevin Dukes with 20 points on 7-of- 14 shooting from the field, including a 5 of 9 effort from beyond the arc.

Ricky Johnson, a sophomore guard, tossed in 18 points that included a perfect 9 for 9 from the charity stripe. Bethune-Cookman's All-MEAC forward Adrien Coleman was limited to just eight points on 4 of 11 attempts by the Bear defense.

"It was a really interesting game for us because we had not played them in two years," said Bozeman, "The main focus for us was to defend and rebound and get out on them early."

"From a player standpoint," he continued, "we wanted to contain Adrien Coleman, an excellent ballplayer and clearly one of the top players in this league. And, with Shaquille (Duncan) and Ian (Chiles) inside for us, we wanted to get the ball inside."

And, that the Bears did as 48 of their points came in the paint area.

"That was the difference," Craig said of the Bears' inside scoring. "Any time you shoot 60 percent, you should have a chance to win. They just guarded Adrien tough."

Morgan State, which led from wire to wire, took a 39-31 cushion to the locker room. The Bears upped the margin to 51-37 when Duncan completed a three-point play with 14:11 remaining. The scrappy Wildcats rallied to close the gap to six, at 64-58, when Dukes connected on a 3-pointer with just over six minutes remaining.

Black answered, however, with a 3-pointer of his own on Morgan State's next possession to ignite a 9-4 run that put the  Bears up 73-62 and in control of the game once more The Wildcats could come no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Morgan State, which rallied behind the three-point shooting of Black on Thursday to defeat Savannah State 64-61 in overtime to reach Friday's semifinals, took an 8-1 lead in the contest when Tauron Bailey made one of two from the line with 16:26 on the first-period clock.

A free throw by Javoris Bryant, who finished with five points for Bethune-Cookman and back-to-back buckets by Coleman pulled the Wildcats to within 8-5 with just 20 seconds elapsed. But the Bears got took a 21-13 advantage with 11:53 left in the period.

The Wildcats, behind a 11-6 spree, closed the gap to 27-24 on consecutive 3-pointers by Dukes with 5:17 left in the opening period, however, the Bears closed out the period with a 12-7 run to build a 39-31 cushion at the half.

It was the final appearance for seniors Paul Scotland, Alex Smith, Dukes and Bryant. The latter two played four seasons, taking part in the Wildcats' first regular season championship and NIT appearance in 2011 and a first-ever championship game appearance last season.

"I want to Bethune-Cookman for the opportunity to play here,"  Dukes said. "I had a pretty good career and accomplished a lot. I want to wish everyone good luck."