NORFOLK, Va. (AP) Early in the season, having tried everything he could think of to help solve his team's free-throw shooting woes, Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman finally decided to ignore it, and focus instead on defense.

The strategy worked, to a great degree, leading to an eight-game winning streak that brought the Bears to the brink of their third tournament championship in the past five seasons.

But then their weakness came to the forefront, and cost them dearly; the Bears missed 12 of 20 free throws Saturday, including eight of 14 in the second half, and lost 57-54 to North Carolina A&T in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament championship.