MSU Gamenotes
Game 5
Morgan State (2-2, 0-0 MEAC) vs. North Florida (2-3, 0-0 A-Sun)
Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010 – 4 p.m. (ET)
Adventura Palace Resort – Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Television – n/a
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com; www.UNFOspreys.com
The Opening Tip
Morgan State, the 2010 MEAC champions, faces North Florida on Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 4 p.m. at the Adventura Palace Resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. MSU 2-2 will look to build upon a 72-53 win against Western Illinois on Tuesday, Nov. 23, and North Florida improved to 2-3 following an 84-66 rout against Prairie View. The game will mark the first meeting between the teams. The Bears will attempt to cap the Cancun Challenge finale with a victory.
The Last Time Out
CANCUN, 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.
North Floirda's Last Game
CANCUN, Mexico -- Jerron Granberry scored a career-high 20 points, Jimmy Williams had 19 points and North Florida dominated Prairie View in an 84-66 win in the Cancun Challenge on Tuesday. Granberry, who went 7 of 8 from the floor, made all six of his 3-point attempts for the Ospreys (2-3). Matt Sauey finished with 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Sauey's slam dunk off a steal with 5:20 to play gave the Ospreys an 81-51 lead -- their largest of the game.
Series History
Wednesday's game will be the first meeting between Morgan State and North Florida in men's basketball.
Frequent Flyer Miles
Morgan State starts the season off with a couple of non-conference games located nowhere near 1700 East Cold Spring Lane. The Bears travelled 2,293 miles to play Loyola Marymount, followed by a 323 mile trip to Providence and a relatively short trip 89 miles to LaSalle. The Bears also play in the Cancun Challenge where they will need a passport to fly 1,390 to Mexico on Nov. 23-24 …That's over 4,000 travel miles logged.
Thompson's Hospitality
♦ MSU junior Kevin Thompson is set to lead the Bears this season...the 6-foot-9 forward was the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and was the league's most dominant post player during the 2009-10 season ... As a sophomore, Thompson averaged 12.7 points per game, 11.9 rebounds (4th best in the nation) and completed the season with 22 double-doubles (pts & rebs). He started the 2010-11 season by notching three straight double-double performances and will enter the North Florida game coming off a 12 points and 8 rebound performance.
Numbers Game
♦ Morgan State had an 11-game winning streak snapped by S.C. State on Feb. 15 and bounced back with a win against the MEAC's No. 2 ranked Delaware State on Feb. 17 ... The Bears won 18 of its last 23 games.
♦Morgan State is ranked 24th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll, marking its 1st week ranked among the top Mid-Majors in the country.
♦ Morgan State completed the 2009-10 season as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champs, it marked the Bears second consecutive MEAC Title and they also captured their third consecutive regular season title.
♦ DeWayne Jackson, the 2010 MEAC Rookie of the Year, had a career-high 31 point explosion against Loyola Marymount in the Bears season-opener, but was held to 6 points (0-5 3FG) at Providence and 7 points at LaSalle. He finished with 9 points and 8 rebounds with 3 steals against Western Illinois.
♦ Morgan State was picked to finish as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champs again this year … the Bears received 20 first place votes and totaled 476 points to garner the league's top position for the second year in a row.
♦ Junior forward Aric Brooks has been the most accurate from long-range thru the first four ballgames ... Brooks has connected on 4-of-8 triples (.500) ... Justin Black is shooting 43 percent (6-14 3FG).
