Boxscore
DOVER, Del. – When Morgan State needed a defensive stop and free throws with the clock running down, their starting point guard made it happen.
Jermaine Bolden scored 13 points Monday, and the Bears made all the important plays in the closing minutes, holding on for a 57-54 victory over Delaware State extending their record to 7-2 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and 12-10 overall.
Reggie Holmes scored a game-high 15 points and Marquise Kately had 10 for the Bears, who sit atop the MEAC standings. This one was in doubt down to the final seconds, until Bolden stole the ball from Hornet guard Trevor Welcher and was immediately fouled with 1.7 seconds remaining and the Bears holding on to a 55-54 lead.
Bolden stepped to the line and hit both of his free throws to seal the victory for the Bears.
"[Itchy] is the leader of the team,” said MSU coach Todd Bozeman, “so for him to hit those free throws, it was kind of poetic justice for him to come through and pull us out.”
“He's been doing it all year.”
Delaware State kept it close by knocking down a couple of 3-pointers midway through half, but couldn't break through in the closing minutes. Donald Johnson led the Hornets with 15 points, while Frisco Sandidge and Marcus Neal added 13 points each.
The shot clock seemed to come into play just about every possession for the Hornets -- a pace that Delaware State played last season during the Bears 39-36 win in Memorial Hall on Jan. 31, 2008.
“As usual when playing Delaware State, they make it an ugly game,” said Bozeman. “We were fortunate to get another team win.”
Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half. The Bears were 6-for-21 (28.6%) from the field, while the Hornets shot 30.8 percent (8-26). Morgan State held a 21-20 lead at halftime.
Morgan State never really got into an offensive rhythm in the first half, but was able to push the pace of the game early in the second half.
There were eight ties and four lead changes down the stretch, with neither team ahead by more than three points in the final three minutes. Holmes hit the back-end of two free throws to put Morgan State ahead to stay, 53-52 with 2:30 remaining.
Morgan State out-rebounded the Hornets by a 32-28 margin and shot 18-for-23 from the free throw line.
MSU redshirt-freshman Kevin Thompson finished with a game-high 10 rebounds along with eight points and four blocked shots.
Morgan State will face Winston-Salem State in non-conference action on Saturday, February 7 at the W.E. Gaines Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
