Aric Brooks scored a season-high 17 points against Western Illinois on Tuesday.
Boxscore
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Morgan State looked like the fresh team, not the one who entered the game having played three straight road games in six days.
Aric Brooks had a season-high 17 points and four assists and the Bears handled Western Illinois after a slow beginning to the contest. WIU trailed 9-7 following a basket by David Gebru at the 12:34 mark of the first half, but the Bears responded with a 20-1 run and held a 15-point lead in the first half on the way to a 72-53 rout on Tuesday at the Adventura Palace Resort.
The Leathernecks entered the contest without one of their leading scorers Ceola Clark III (12 ppg), who missed the game due to injury. But with the way Morgan State was playing, it may not have mattered if he did play.
Morgan State (2-2) turned 18 of the Leatherneck's turnovers into 23 points. The Bears also shot a blistering 51.9 percent from the field in the first half and finished the game by converting 26 of 53 (49 percent), including 4 of 13 (30.8 percent) from three-point territory.
Western Illinois (2-3) shot 17 of 29 from the free throw line and was limited to making just 16 of 41 (39 percent) shots during the game.
The Leathernecks put together a valiant run in the second half and a layup by Matt Lander trimmed the Bears' lead to 5 points (45-40) with 12:00 remaining in the game. But Morgan State's Brooks connected on a three-pointer which turned out to be the proverbial switch, as the Bears used a 15-0 run to go up by 20 and put the game away.
Kevin Thompson had a three-game streak of double-doubles come to an end as he finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Ameer Ali posted 11 points with eight boards and
Rodney Stokes scored 10 points.
WIU was led by Matt Lander who finished with 14 points, while David Gebru had 10 points and Jelani Johnson added 8 points and a team-high 6 rebounds.
With the win the Bears snapped a modest 2-game losing streak and will prepare to face North Florida to wrap up the 2010 Cancun Challenge tomorrow. North Florida (2-3) will enter the game fresh off a 84-66 win against Prairie View A&M.
