Rogers Barnes paced the Bears with 17 points and was 4-for-4 from 3-point territory.
Boxscore
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Morgan State guard
Rogers Barnes helped spark a 24-4 run midway through the second half to help the Bears pull out a 73-64 victory on Saturday in a nationally televised game by ESPNU at the LJVM Coliseum.
The win improved the Bears' overall record to 13-10 (7-2 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) and extended their winning streak to three.
Barnes led the Bears with 17 points and was perfect from beyond the three-point line where he connected on 4-of-4 from long range.
Morgan State shot 46.4 percent (13-28) in the first half and finished 25-for-52 (48.2%) for the game.
“We didn't play well at all in the first half,” said Barnes, “and the Rams played a lot harder.”
“I was able to make a couple of good open shots in the second half, and once we got the momentum back, it helped our team play better.”
Reggie Holmes, who entered the game ranked 4
th in the MEAC in scoring (16.4 pg), recorded in 12 of his 15 points in the second half, including three consecutive three-pointers to break the game open. The Bears shot 7-for-10 from three-point territory in the second half and finished the game
Marquise Kately added 12 points and
Jermaine Bolden controlled the pace of the game from his point guard position where he garnered a game-high seven assists, 7 points and three steals.
The MEAC's top team led by as many as six points midway through the first half as they limited the Rams to a single field goal over an 8 minute stretch.
The Bears held a slim advantage through nearly the entire first half of play until a Jamal Durham three-pointer with 35 seconds remaining in the period gave WSSU their first lead of the game at 33-32.
WSSU's Brian Fisher and Jamal Durham combined for 24 points in the first half and Durham's three-pointer with 35 seconds gave the Rams their first lead of the afternoon, taking a 33-32 lead in the locker-room.
Six of Morgan State's first nine field goals in the opening minutes of the second half were from three-point territory.
Holmes and Barnes combined to score four consecutive 3-pointers (2 apiece) to help spark a 24-4 run.
Kevin Thompson dropped in basket in the low post that extended Morgan's lead to 64-48 lead with 7:19 left to go.
The Bears dominated the glass by out-rebounding the Rams by a 37-29 margin, and scored 16 points on second chance opportunities. Thompson led the Bears on the boards by finished with a game-high nine rebounds to go along with 6 points and a blocked shot.
Fisher hit a layup with 3:16 remaining to help the Rams narrow the Bears lead to 9 points (65-56), but Barnes answered with a three-pointer (2:52) and the Bears went back up by as many as 12 points in the remaining moments.
The Bears will return to action on Monday, Feb. 9, 2009 in Orangeburg, S.C. as they travel to face the Bulldogs of South Carolina State University at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Bear Notes
* Marquise Kately scored 8 points in the first half before picking up his 2nd foul with 15:58 remaining.
* Reggie Holmes now has 1,044 points for his career. He has appeared in 84 games for the Bears and has turned in a career scoring average of 12.4 points per game. He now ranks 18th all-time in scoring at Morgan State as he moves past James Turk (1,035 career points).
