Bears Top Bison in Beltway Battle, 78-56 - Morgan State University Athletics

Boxscore

Bear Shots

BALTIMORE, Md. -- Reggie Holmes scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and Rogers Barnes added 13 points to lead Morgan State to a 78-56 win against Howard in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Hill Field House.

The Bears won for the fifth time in its last six outings and win improved their record to 10-9 overall and 5-1 in MEAC, and sit in sole possession of first place in the conference. Howard (3-15, 1-4 MEAC) was led by Eugene Myatt who finished with 15 points, while Kyle Riley chipped in 13 and Kandi Mukole added 10.

Morgan held a 30-23 halftime lead before using a 16-0 run early in the second half to put the game away. Barnes led the way by scoring seven points during the run. The Bears extended to their largest lead when Holmes knocked down a jumper with 11:45 left to give the Bears a 59-30 advantage.

"I just didn't think that we played with any passion. We didn't have any focus," Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman said. "But they picked it up in the first five minutes [of the second half]. The guys responded well."

The game remained close throughout most of the first half and a Mukole basket trimmed the Bears lead to 12-11 with 8:40 remaining. Morgan's Marquise Kately scored a layup (7:43) to help ignite a 9-1 run over the next three minute to help give the Bears a 30-23 cushion at the intermission.

The Bison shot 38.6 percent from the field (17-of-44) and the Bears took advantage, consistently running fast breaks off missed shots and capitalizing on Howard's turnovers. Morgan scored 20 points on points off turnovers and outscored the Bison by a 21-5 margin fast break points.

Jermaine Bolden collected a game-high nine assists to go along with 11 points, and Kately added 10 points and five rebounds.

The Bears dominated the glass by outrebounding Howard by a commanding 42-25 margin.

Morgan is 55-40 all-time against Howard and has won five straight games against the Bison since Todd Bozeman became Morgan's head coach during the 2006-07 season.

The Bears will square-off against Hampton in MEAC competition on Monday, Jan. 26, when they host the Pirates at 7:30 p.m.

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