Boxscore
CINCINNATI, Ohio – Morgan State held 10-points cushion against #14/15 Xavier, only to see it evaporate behind the play of Musketeer point guard Mark Lyons.
Lyons had 14 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and added six assists. And the Musketeers (No. 14 AP, No. 15 ESPN/USA Today) won for the 22
nd straight regular season opener (20 at home) by beating Morgan State 74-63 in Cintas Center on Friday night.
Dezmine Wells finished with 12 points, and Xavier shot almost 50 percent.
The Bears came out strong during the early going and scored off their offensive sets and off of Xavier turnovers. After Frease scored a basket with 14:52 on the clock, the Bears used a 12-2 run and got a jumper from DeWayne Jackson to give his team 22-12 lead with 11:02 remaining in the first half.
It took a while, but from that point forward Lyons helped chip into the Bears lead and when he tossed an alley-oop pass for a high-flying one-handed dunk by Wells to trim MSU's lead (26-21) everyone in Cintas Center was charged up.
Martin hit a 3-pointer with 3:08 remaining to give Xavier its first lead since it was 4-3. The Musketeers closed the half with a 3-pointer by Wells in front of the Bears bench to take a 40-35 advantage at the break.
Lyons went on a 8-0 run by himself to open up second half scoring. The Musketeers lead ballooned to 54-37 at the 14:14 mark. The Bears did not score a single basket until Thompson scored on a layup with just over 8 minutes remaining.
Morgan State had four players score in double-figure. Senior forward
Kevin Thompson posted 14 points and nine rebounds, while DeWayne Jackson and
Justin Black added 11 points apiece. Aric Brooks chipped in 10.
Field goals came few and far for the Bears. MSU went from shooting 37.5 percent (12-32) in the first half, to shooting 26.9 percent (7-26) in the second half. Xavier shot 49 percent (28-57) from the field and connected on 13-of-31 3-pointers (41 percent).
The Morgan State men's basketball team will be back in action Monday as it hosts Murray State for a 7 p.m. match-up. The game will be broadcast on Sirius channel 137.
