NORFOLK, Va. — Delaware State was so close to actually pulling this off.

With just 11 minutes left in the MEAC finals, the sixth-seeded Hornets led No. 4 Howard by six points.

If Delaware State could hold that advantage, it would have been perhaps the most surprisingly accomplishment in Hornets’ men’s basketball history.

But the Bison had their own plans.

Howard found a way to pull out the victory, rallying for a 70-67 win in the MEAC championship game at The Scope Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Bison took the lead for good at 62-60 on a drive by Bryce Harris with 4:41 remaining. DelState then missed its next four shots from the floor before Howard finally locked down its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance from the foul line.

The Hornets (15-18) were playing in the conference finals for the first time since 2015. They were trying to earn just the program’s second ticket to the NCAAs and first since 2005.

Howard, coached by former Delaware assistant Kenny Blakeney, has now won its last seven meetings with DSU.

“A huge factor was the experience of Howard,” Hornets' coach Stan Waterman said in a press release. “They have been here before. My hats off to Coach Blakeney and his team and we wish them well in the NCAA playoffs.”

“First of all, I’d like to give kudos to Coach Stan Waterman and his team,” Blakeney said. “In all of my years of coaching and being around basketball, I have not seen a season like this. We used 13 different lineups due to injuries and COVID.

“We really shot the three-point basket well in the first half, but they made adjustments at the half,” he continued. “This allowed Bryce more room inside and that proved to be very effective for us down the stretch.”

DelState made preseason favorite Howard (18-16) earn the title, though. After trailing by 10 in the first half, the Hornets went up 55-49 on a Martaz Robinson layup with 10:58 on the clock.

But DSU made just four field goals the rest of the way. It shot just 38.1 percent (24-of-63) for the game including 5-of-13 from three-point range.

The Hornets’ last-gasp chance came when freshman Deywilk Tavarez was fouled on a three-point shot with 2.2 seconds left and the Bison up 70-66.

Tavarez made the first free throw, missed the second and then intentionally missed the third. But the shot didn’t hit the rim before the Bison inbounded the ball and ran out the clock.

While Howard’s players happily celebrated their hard-earned victory, several DelState players wiped away tears.

Sophomore Jevin Muniz had a big game for the Hornets, finishing with 24 points and sinking 4-of-8 three-pointers. Robinson added 16 points with eight rebounds with Tavarez scoring eight points.

Howard was paced by Jordan Hairston (18), Seth Towns (16) and Harris (16).

The Bison shot only 38.3 percent (18-of-47) and were 8-of-25 from three-point range.

While Howard was 26-of-31 from the foul line, the Hornets were 14-of-19.

In a contest that featured three ties and five lead changes, the Bison led for 30:10. DSU led for only 7:03.

Delaware State’s 15 wins were the most for the program since 2015. The Hornets were playing their third game in three days after knocking off both the No. 3 and then No. 2 seeds in the tourney.