Morgan State University Athletics

Boxscore

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – Morgan State was on a mission following a disappointing conference loss at Delaware State.

Kevin Thompson had a field day inside where he scored 10 of his team-high 20 points in the first half and hauled down eight rebounds, helping Morgan State dismantle the Hawks of MD-Eastern Shore 74-60 Monday night at W.P. Hytche Center.

Morgan State (9-8, 5-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) outrebounded the Hawks by a 35-29 margin and hounded them into committing 19 turnovers.

Thompson, the reigning MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, scored 10 of his 20 points to help Morgan State build an 11-point lead by halftime, and Ameer Ali scored 13 points for the Bears, who haven't lost to UMES since the 2005-06 season.  Justin Black added 11 points and four assists to help the Bears post their first conference road win of the season.

The Bears got off to a blistering start behind the play of Thompson.

The junior started by hitting his first three baskets to help the Bears jump out to a 12-2 lead.

The Hawks had solid front court play from Obame Obame Freddy (9 pts, 5 rebs) and Tyler Hines (10 pts, 10 rebs), especially in the first half where the duo combined for 10 of the Hawks' first 11 points and kept UMES within striking distance.

UMES (4-15, 1-5 MEAC) needed a good shooting night to end a 3-game losing streak, but didn't get it tonight. UMES had trouble hitting shots from the perimeter (19-46), was outscored inside the paint by a 40-24 margin, and struggled all night from the line where they shot a dismal 57 percent (16-28).

The Hawks' star player Hillary Haley was held to just 4 points in the first half, but exploded in the second half by scoring seven of the Hawks first 10 points, including a fastbreak layup that cut the Bears' lead to 42-38 at the 15:28 mark.

Haley finished with a game-high 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field.

Ameer Ali picked up his fourth foul when Dishawn Bradshaw buried a 3-pointer to trim Morgan's lead to 52-51 with 9:24 remaining.

The Bears responded when Rodney Stokes scored four points during an 8-0 spurt to give his team a 9-point cushion (60-51) with 5 minutes left, which turned out to be enough. The Bears finished the game by connecting on 27-of-35 (77.1 percent) free throws, including 10-of-13 down the stretch to ice the game.

Morgan State will have five days to prepare for a matchup with Norfolk State on Saturday, January 29 at Hill Field House. The game is set to tip-off at 1:05 p.m. and will be televised by ESPNU.

NOTE: MSU's junior Aric Brooks did not play due to being ejected from the Delaware State contest (Jan. 20).