Game 36
No. 1 seed Morgan State (26-9, 15-1 MEAC) vs. No. 3 South Carolina State
Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum – Winston-Salem, N.C.
Television – ESPN2
Radio – WEAA, 88.9 FM
The Opening Tip
No. 1 seeded Morgan State, the 2009-10 MEAC regular season champions, will face No. 3 seed South Carolina State on Saturday, March 13th in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem (NC) and will be televised by ESPN2. The game will also be broadcast by WEAA, 88.9 FM.
The Last Time Out
Ameer Ali scored 12 of his team-high 14 points in the second half and Troy Smith and Joe Davis added 11 and 10, respectively after the half to lead Morgan State to a 74-67 win over Hampton University in the semifinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament at the Joel Coliseum.
Series History – No. 3 South Carolina State
The Bulldogs hold a 39-26 advantage in the series. MSU has won 6 of the last 8 meetings against the Bears since 2006. Jason Flagler scored a game-high 24 points and the Bulldogs shot a blistering 57.1 percent from the field to help drop the Bears 71-68 at Hill Field House on Monday night in an ESPNU televised game. The loss stopped Morgan State's 10-game winning streak, and halted the Bears' 12-game regular season conference win streak.
Holming In
♦ Morgan State senior guard Reggie Holmes will enter Saturday's contest averaging 21.9 points per game, including six 30 point outings thru 35 games. He currently leads the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in scoring and ranks in the NCAA Top 10 (ranked No. 10).
Thompson's Hospitality
♦ Morgan State forward Kevin Thompson was named to the Freshmen Mid-Major All-America team by Collegeinsider.com at the end of the last season. Thompson posted his 21st double-double of the season by finishing with a game-high 20 points and 16 rebounds in the MEAC quarterfinals vs. No. 9 N.C. A&T ... Thompson is among the nation's leaders in rebounds ... he ranks No. 4 (12 rpg) and has posted 25 rebounds in a game which is an NCAA single-game high for this season.
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 have won 21 of its last 26 games.
♦Morgan State is ranked 18th in the CollegeInsider. com Mid-Major Poll, marking its 6th week ranked among the top Mid-Majors in the country.
♦ Reggie Holmes has had an exemplary career for the Bears … The senior surpassed also a milestone in the history of Morgan State men's basketball … He poured in a career-high 36 points in the regular season finale against Coppin State and as a result he passed Marvin Webster as the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,994 career points ... Webster scored 1,990 from 1971-75 and had held the record for 35 years … Holmes currently has 2,032 career points
♦ Prior to the S.C. State loss, MSU had won 12 straight regular season conference games since last year.
♦ With the win against No. 5 seed Hampton on Friday night, Todd Bozeman improved to 9-2 record in the MEAC Tournament
♦ As a result of clinching the MEAC regular season conference championship, the Bears are guaranteed to play in the postseason for the third straight year.
♦Today's game will mark Morgan State's third straight MEAC title appearance in Coach Bozeman's four years at the helm; The Bears lost to Coppin State in 2008 (62-60) and defeated Norfolk State in 2009 (83-69).
♦ Morgan State is 22-4 when scoring 70 or more points, with losses coming at Louisville (81-90), Appalachian State in overtime (92-93) and a tough loss at Robert Morris (78-75).
♦ The final 3 minutes has been critical in the Bears' success this season… Morgan State is 22-2 this season when leading with 3 minutes to go; and with the win against No. 5 Hampton on Friday night, the Bears improved to 4-7 when trailing with 3 minutes left.
♦ Morgan State swept the top individual awards for the season in the MEAC. Reggie Holmes was named Player of the Year , Kevin Thompson earned Defensive Player of the Year and freshman DeWayne Jackson was selected as Rookie of the Year. Todd Bozeman also was named Coach of the Year for the third straight season.
