MSU guard Sam Brand scored 8 points in the Bears loss to Robert Morris.
Boxscore
The Morgan State University men’s basketball team tipped off its 2004-05 season Monday night at the Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, with a 68-49 loss to Robert Morris in game one of the Guardians Classic.
The Bears (0-1, 0-0) jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first three minutes of action as the two teams started cold from the field, but the Colonials used a 5-0 run to take a 7-5 advantage with 14:18 to play before halftime. The run was ignited Joseph Ison, who scored four points during the spurt. Morgan State responded with its own run, scoring nine of the game’s next 11 points to take a 14-9 lead at the 9:04 mark of the first half. Newcomer Timothy Mathis scored four points for the Bears during the spurt, while senior guard Theodore Terrell nailed a three-pointer.
Robert Morris clawed back to knot the game at 14, then used a 20-6 run over the last seven minutes of the first stanza to take a 34-20 advantage into halftime. The Colonials used solid defense during the run, forcing five Morgan State turnovers and turning four of those miscues into points. Beau Gibb came off the bench to score six points on a pair of three-pointers to spark RMU, while Maurice Carter added five points.
The Bears didn’t fold, however, jumping out of the second half gate on a 15-1 run to close the gap to 36-35 with 15:20 to play. The Colonials couldn’t get into a groove offensively, while Morgan State executed in its transition offense. Aaron Andrews scored four points during the MSU spurt, while Alfonso Evans hit a layup to close the deficit to one for the Bears. Robert Morris responded with a huge three-pointer from Carter to give the Colonials some breathing room, then Derek Coleman’s trifecta pushed the RMU lead to 42-35 with 13:24 left. The pair of three-pointers seemed to spark Robert Morris, as the Colonials scored nine of the game’s next 10 points to get their lead back to double digits, 51-36. Carter scored four points during the spurt, including a 1-for-2 performance from the charity stripe and another three-pointer.
Morgan State would cut the deficit to 51-39, but the Colonials used a 17-7 spurt from the 9:22 mark of the second stanza until there was 2:02 remaining to push the lead to their biggest of the game, 68-46. Carter led Robert Morris with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc. He also added three assists, three rebounds, a block and a steal. Ison added 14 points for the Colonials and had four rebounds, a block and two steals, while McCrommon chipped in with 10 points, a game-high eight rebounds and four assists.
Morgan State will play Towson in the consolation game of the Guardians Classic Tuesday, Nov. 16. The Bears will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. against the Tigers.
Notes: The Colonials shot 44.9 percent (22-for-49) from the field, including 46.7 percent (7-for-15) from beyond the three-point arc … Morgan State shot just 33.3 percent (18-for-54) from the field, including just 2-for-11 (18.2 percent) from beyond the three-point arc …Morgan State won the battle of the boards, 35-31 … Morgan State’s freshman guard Timothy Mathis was the only Bears to finish in double-figures by scoring 11 points … finished with nine offensive rebounds in the game, including five from McCrommon … Bear sharpshooter Sam Brand had a poor night from beyond the arc (0-5 3FG) and finished with 8 points.
