Morgan State University Athletics

Boxscore

NORFOLK, Va. – Kyle O'Quinn scored 18 points and posted 12 rebounds to lead the Spartans to an impressive 76-59 victory against Morgan State before a packed crowd Saturday night at Echols Hall. 
 
NSU improved to 16-6 overall and remain in first-place in the Mid-Eastern Conference with an unblemished 8-0 record. The Spartans also recorded its largest margin of victory against the Bears since a 28-point victory in 2006.
 
The Bears (5-13, 3-4) have lost two of its last three games, and have lost four consecutive regular season games to the Spartans since last season.
 
MSU was competitive early in the game and Ian Chiles' basket with 16:25 to tied the game at 7-7. From that point forward things began going downhill for the Bears.
 
The Spartans exploded on a 25-4 run to take control in the first half, highlighted by a alley-oop pass by O'Quinn's to Willis. NSU held its largest lead of the first stanza when Pendarvis Williams scored a layup at 3:46 to give the Spartans a 34-13 advantage.
 
MSU struggled to shoot the ball throughout the game and the Spartans' aggressive defense had a lot to do with it. NSU contested shots and forced turnovers that led to easy scoring opportunities.
 
MSU shot 23 percent from the field and had seven turnovers in the first half.  Meanwhile, the Spartans finished the half by shooting 48 percent from the floor, including 2 of 4 for 3-point territory.
 
MSU went almost 10 minutes without scoring a basket, until Blake Bozeman hit a jumper with 3:05 left. MSU outscored the Spartans 9-3 to close the half and went into the break trailing 41-22.
 
Kevin Thompson led the Bears with 13 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double effort of the season. DeWayne Jackson, who scorched the Spartans for 33 points in their earlier meeting at Hill Field House, was held to six points on 2 of -12 shooting.
 
MSU started the second half on a 9-2 run. A tip-in basket by Thompson and a free throw by Ameer Ali trimmed the Spartans lead to 11, down 47-36 with just under 15 minutes left to go. The Spartans responded with an 11-2 run and Williams hit a jumper to put NSU up 58-39 with 11:38 to go.
 
Bear Notes
Aric Brooks had his string of 25 consecutive free throws snapped … He finished the game by going 8 of 10 from the free throw line