Morgan State University Athletics

The Opening Tip
Morgan State, the 2010 MEAC champions, hosts Coppin State on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. in the Bears' Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference-opener at Hill Field House in Baltimore, Md. MSU 2-4 will look to rebound from a 73-67 loss against Loyola last Monday (Nov. 29) in the Bears' home-opener. Coppin State improved to 2-2 following a 70-57 win at Lincoln (Pa.). Saturday night's game will mark the 70th meeting between the teams.

The Last Time Out
BALTIMORE, Md. -- For their first appearance at Hill Field House this season, Morgan State struggled with their shooting on the night. The Loyola Greyhounds were all too happy to take advantage of that in their 73-67 victory over the Bears tonight. Morgan State (2-4) started strong by scoring six of the first eight points of the game. Kevin Thompson got it going with a layup, which was part of yet another double-double effort as he finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Coppin State's Last Game
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Michael Harper scored 19 points and Tony Gallo added 18 as Coppin State extended its winning streak to two games with a 70-57 non-conference victory over Lincoln (Pa.) on Tuesday in the Physical Education Complex. The Eagles overcame a three-point halftime deficit by shooting 50.0 percent from the floor, while limiting Lincoln to just 31.3 percent shooting.

Series History
♦ The Eagles lead the series 49-20since 1975, including an 11-game winning streak against the Bears from 1989 to 1994.

♦ The Bears have beaten Coppin State five straight times, including seven of the last eight in the cross-town rivalry.

♦ In their last meeting on March 5, 2010, Reggie Holmes had the best of farewells at Hill Field House. Playing before a packed house in his final game, Holmes broke Marvin Webster's all-time scoring record at Morgan State with a 36-point effort to lead the Bears over Coppin State 74-54. With the loss, Coppin dropped to 3-13 in the MEAC (8-21 overall), tying the fewest conference wins in a season in coach Fang Mitchell's 24 seasons.

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.

Home Sweet Home
♦ Todd Bozeman has coached the Bears to a terrific home record since joining Morgan State.

♦ Bozeman has led the Bears to a 35-7 (.833) current home record inside the confines of Hill Field House, including wins over Delaware State (Jan. 23), UMES (Jan. 25), FAMU (Feb. 7), Bethune-Cookman (Feb. 8), Winston-Salem State (Feb. 13), Norfolk State (Feb. 27), N.C. A&T (March 1) and Coppin State (March 4).

♦ The Loyola Greyhounds' 73-69 victory at Hill Field House on November 29, 2010 handed the Bears its first home loss since a 71-68 loss to South Carolina State on February 15, 2010.

♦ The average margin of loss at home in the past four seasons is 6.3 pts, including a 83-63 loss vs. Seton Hall on Nov. 26, 2006 at Hill Field House.

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 has started the 2010-11 season by notching five double-double performances in six games, including a 13 points and 11 rebounds outing against Loyola. Thompson is currently averaging 15.2 ppg and 10 rpg.

Numbers Game
♦ Following their matchup with Coppin State, the Bears will have 14 days before they host UMBC in a local non-conference matchup on Saturday, December 18 at Hill Field House.

♦ 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 led the Bears with 19 points in 30 minutes of action against Loyola. Jackson is currently averaging 14 ppg and 5 rpg.

♦ Coppin State junior guard Michael Harper ranks among the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference leaders in scoring (T-2nd) by averaging 19 points per game ... In the win over Lincoln (Pa.) on Tuesday night, the Milwaukee product led the Eagles with 19 points and pulled down three rebounds to help extend the Eagles' win streak to two games ... Harper missed 10 games during the 2009-10 season while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.

♦ Morgan State is currently shooting 28 percent from three-point territory (23-82 3FG).

♦ #Justin Black# is shooting 41 percent (7-17 3FG) has been the most accurate from long-range thru the first six ballgames ... Aric Brooks has connected on 4-of-11 triples (.364).