RALEIGH - They've got white steps, seafood, the television show "The Wire" and now, for the first time in more than a decade, Baltimore has a MEAC champions.

Seventh-seeded Coppin State pulled off a 62-60 stunner at the RBC Center on Saturday night, beating No. 1 seed and crosstown rival Morgan State to win the MEAC championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament.

For the second year in a row, the MEAC Tournament was decided in the closing seconds and with television style drama.

Coppin State's Tywain McKee sprinted to the basket and scored a hotly contested lay-up with three seconds left, lifting the Eagles to the title and causing their fans to go wild.

"This is the biggest possible thing. This is bigger than beating anyone else for it," said McKee, who scored 33 points. "This was the Battle of Baltimore. For who is best in Baltimore. This feels great!"

The Coppin State win over Morgan State, also keeps Bears coach Todd Bozeman out of the NCAA Tournament. Bozeman coached California past Duke in the round of 16 in 1997.

Bozeman, a Maryland native, now has to go home three seconds shy of a title.

The Eagles won all four of their tournament games by a combined six points.

"Last night we were in Afghanistan. Tonight, we were in Iraq," CSU coach Ron Mitchell said. "Hey, just get out alive."

Baltimore's last college championship in a major sport was Coppin State's MEAC title in 1997.

Since then, the city hasn't had much college success and the NFL's Baltimore Ravens have taken over much of town's attention. Without a consistent winner under the professional level, Baltimore has become more synonymous with the TV programing than with high-level college athletics.

Coppin State forward Antwan Harrison said bringing a title home to Baltimore might make the city take notice of his team and with both school's in the championship, may put the city on college sports map.

"Its going to add some excitement to the town. People are going to know who Coppin's players are," Harrison said. "I'm not from the city, but it'll give people something else to talk about (other) than The Wire. The Wire is filmed in West Baltimore. Our school is in West Baltimore."

The teams played matched Baltimore character -- rough and tumble, with the Eagles hitting the floor for loose balls.

From the outset of the the contest, the squads seemed to know what the other was going to do -- as East Baltimore and West Baltimore answered each other's shot and tactics -- alternating from zone to man.

The Bears took a two-point lead into the half but couldn't pull away in the second half. In fact, they kept staring at the Eagles, who seemed embolden by their success on Saturday, as opposed to the two losses to MSU during the regular season.

Asked if it hurt worse to get close to a title and rather than lose big. He said losing hurts and losing to lower a ranked team is why everyone was in Raleigh this week anyway.

"That's why you have a conference tournament. It's a hard fought game, I'm really proud of my guys," Bozeman said, after watching a last ditch shot clang off the rim.

"That's what March Madness is all about. It goes down to the wire."

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.