DeWayne Jackson finished with 17 points against the Bulldogs.
Boxscore
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – DeWayne Jackson had 17 points, including a critical 3-pointer late and Morgan State rallied to beat South Carolina State 72-66 on Monday night at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center in Orangeburg.
The Bears (12-10, 8-3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) have won nine of its last 11 contests against the South Carolina State, and remain on pace in the standings with the league leaders.
With the loss the Bulldogs dropped to 6-19 overall and 2-10 in the MEAC, and have lost four games in a row and 10 of their past 11.
South Carolina State held a 40-32 halftime lead, but the Bears answered by outscoring the Bulldogs 14-3, and DeWayne Jackson's 3-pointer at 16:56 put his team ahead 46-43.
Jackson, who was 5 of 10 from 3-point range, finished with 17 points.
The game went back and forth throughout most of the second half, in a game that had 10 ties and six lead changes. With under 5 minutes remaining, Khalif Toombs buried a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 62-61 lead. But again, the Bears responded.
Aric Brooks hit a pair of free throws to put Morgan State back in control at 65-62 with 3:42 left. The Bulldogs trimmed the lead back to 65-64 (1:44) when Toombs hit a jumper. With 30 seconds remaining, Jackson drilled his fifth 3-pointer of the night to put Morgan State up 68-64 as the Bears closed out from the free throw line with the win.
"I just set my feet like (assistant coach Keith Goodie) kept telling me," Jackson said. "I was hearing him on the bench 'DeWayne, set your feet! Set your feet!' So I just knocked it down. It was a big shot for my team."
Morgan State's Ameer Ali added 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting, while Kevin Thompson finished with 10 points and collected a game-high eight boards to go along with two blocks.
Brandon Riley paced South Carolina State with 17 points, followed by Toombs with 11. The Bulldogs shot 47 percent (26-55) from the field, but did not hit a field goal in the final 5:53 of the game.
"Every team gives us their best shot," Jackson said. "We know basketball is a game of runs as Coach (Todd Bozeman) would say. We knew all we had to do is keep our advantages, keep playing defense and we can get the win."
The Bears opened with a 10-0 lead, then the Bulldogs went on a 25-6 run, eventually building a 40-30 lead.
Morgan State, the 2010 MEAC champions, will host Virginia Military Institute in an ESPN Bracketbusters contest Saturday, Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. at Hill Field House in Baltimore, Md. The game will mark the first ever meeting between the Bears and the Keydets, of the Big South Conference, in men's basketball.
