Morehouse May Lose Basketball Exhibiiton to North Carolina State Today, But Young Team Will Gain Experience in Big Time and While Athletic Department Gets Needed $$$$;

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

Two years ago, Kentucky defeated Morehouse 125-40 in what Morehouse coach Grady Brewer said he wanted to use to give his young team experience in playing in big time places and situation.

Tonight, Morehouse, a Division II team, will visit North Carolina State, a Division I team in the heralded basketball crazed Atlantic Coast Conference for a exhibition hoops game.

The score, which likely won't be close, will not even matter.

Both sides will get exactly what they want from this not-so even encounter in Raleigh, N.C.

That's the beauty of these guarantee games in college basketball.   Smaller schools get hundreds of thousands of dollars to show up and serve as the Washington Generals for a large school hungry for momentum and an excited fan base.

But Morehouse head coach Grady Brewer said his team gets a little big more, mainly a look at what it takes to be on the big stage and to see what it takes for a good team to be a winning team.


He may be on to something.

After getting plastered by Kentucky 125-40 in an exhibition two years ago, his Maroon Tigers basketball program has been able to look a lot like the teams that have pasted them.  This past season they finished 20-8 with a share of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East Division regular season title and a close loss in the SIAC Tournament championship game.

And with not much to lose since, well, they are expected to lose, Morehouse gains a little more publicity for its athletics and admissions areas. 

So it's a win-win for Morehouse, even though tonight's appearance in Raleigh will likely be a big loss on the court.