NORFOLK, VA – No. 2 South Carolina State built an eight-point 60-52 lead with 6:26 to play and was 8-8 from the free throw line the rest of the way to hold off Coppin State 68-63 in quarterfinal action of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday evening at The Norfolk Scope Arena.

The Bulldogs move on to Friday's semifinals where they will meet the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal matchup between third-seeded Delaware State and Morgan State, the sixth seed.

Coach Erik Martin's team, which improved to 19-12 on the year, was led by senior Will Dubinsky, who tossed in 20 points, including a 4-of-5 performance from three-point range. Colin McKenzie came off the bench for 11 points and Davion Everett added 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Coppin State, which ended its season at 6-24, was led by Peter Oduro with 15 points and five boards. Toby Nnadozie had 14 points and Khali Horton added 10 for the Eagles, while Derrius Ward was the top rebounder with seven, to go along with eight points.

Coppin State led 41-37 at the half, after leading by as many as nine in the opening period, however, the Bulldogs, who won their 10th consecutive game, began the final 20 minutes with an 11-0 run to take a 48-41 edge with 17:10 remaining when Everett completed a three-point play.

The Eagles, who shot 53.1 percent (17-32) in the first 20 minutes, rallied to close the gap to 48-47 on an Oduro follow shot. Coppin trailed by one, 52-51, at the 10:40 mark when the Bulldogs used a 8-1 run to build their biggest lead of the game, 60-52, following a Mitchell Taylor layup, who contributed five points in the win.

Coppin State kept up the pressure and closed the margin to three twice, the last time at 66-63 on an Oduro layup. Drayton Jones, who had seven points and five boards for the Bulldogs, scored two of his four free throws in the final 2:32 of the game, was true on two chances from the line with just 13 seconds remaining for the final marking. The Bulldogs' final eight points all came from the charity stripe, including two by Omar Croskey, who finished with six points, and two by Dubinsky.

The victory by the Bulldogs gave SC State a sweep of the Eagles, who lost both regular-season matchups – 85-77 in Baltimore and 87-57 at Orangeburg.

For the latest updates on MEAC basketball, visit MEACHoops.com.